Articles from PhLB - Luc Boonen

The art of reduction

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 07:41:36 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

To my opinion a lot of photographs get better with diminished detail, call it abstraction if you like. The art of reduction is very interesting. Try for yourself: look for images that you like where reduction or abstraction is an essential part of the image. And then imagine how they would have looked without it. No distraction, no irrelevant details, no deviation, straight ahead. The only problem is the fact that the art of reduction has a steep learning curve ...........

You can reduce information by cropping to the essential, reduce detail by postprocessing, play with light and dark, unsharpness etcetera.

Mondriaan is my inspiration, he finally became a master of abstraction, it took a lifetime.

Passion

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 21:00:38 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

I read a story by Leon van Kemenade that really impressed me:

"Like all of us I often fall in love with my own photos. I know, a bit sad. It's just that when you've found a composition that you really like, when you've got the shot you were after, when you've sweated and slaved over it in post processing (well, that might be a bit over the top), it's hard not to invest a bit too much emotional energy into an image. Usually, after a week or so, you look at it again with a little more distance between it and you and you realise that perhaps it wasn't that great after all. Still it was nice while it lasted.

And so I confess, I won't deny it... I love this photo! It has so much of what I personally love in the photos I love taking. It's got symmetry, that's a given. It's got some lovely colours. And it's got a story to tell with that ...., ......, and that ......on the right in a perfect position. So talk to me in a week or so but for now at least I love it!"

Passion, isn't that what it's all about? Keep inspiring us Leon!

Window to the mind

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 09:29:29 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

Photography is like writing, you start with an empty piece of paper, then fill it using your creativity.

What is in your mind, what is on that paper, do they correspond, do they have connection?

Do you start with an idea, then start writing, word for word, sentence by sentence until your story is complete?

Or do you put a lot of words on that paper and start telling it is a story afterwards?

Next time remember, photography can be a window to the mind!

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This unique book is about my personal development as a photographer, the title reflects it all.

Dunnowhatitis

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:57:38 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

Some people call it abstraction, I call it dunnowhatitis.

Did you ever wonder why most people try to recognize an image? Are they glad to see something familiar, rather than an abstract image? Are abstract images harder to read or is recognition a key condition to evaluate an image? It all depends on the mindset of the audience. This mindset gives priority to the characteristics of an image and to its final evaluation.

To my opinion other points are more important than recognition. For instance, what do you feel, does it impress you, frighten you, tranquillize you or just make you glad?

Look again at abstract images after these considerations! And more important don't panic if you dunnowhatitis ......

Confused

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 07:40:19 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

What colour has the word black and the word white in this image? The question brings your mind in a twist, a state of cognitive dissonance. You see black where the answer should be white and v.v.

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.

This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a belief of a person clashes with new evidence perceived by that person.

When confronted with a situation like this people will find a way to resolve the contradiction in order to reduce their discomfort

A psychic mechanism then comes into play to eliminate the tension by bringing the ideas into line with each other, thus restoring the peace of mind, for instance:

"Luc turned this image negative, he is a fool to do so, it's ugly and bad taste."

Cognitive dissonance can be a driving force to develop new ideas, but can also lead people to shut themselves off for information that refutes their beliefs.

When you’re familiar with this phenomena you’ll see that the world is full of it …….

For some peace of mind, here's the "normal" image:

Mindflash

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:13:48 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

At home, when you are preparing that image, you may try to bring back those mindflashes. Do you remember exactly what triggered you, to take that picture? Can you bring back those mindflashes in your image, can you show them your viewers? It's all very personal, certainly if your image is hard to read. To me it's always a big challenge.

I've your interested visit my album: mindflash and leave a comment

Steps to make your life more creative

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 17:01:35 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

• Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.

• We need to be in the open mode when pondering a problem — but! — once we come up with a solution, we must then switch to the closed mode to implement it. Because once we’ve made a decision, we are efficient only if we go through with it decisively, undistracted by doubts about its correctness.

• Cleese goes on to caution against a trap in this duality, one particularly hazardous in politics:

• To be at our most efficient, we need to be able to switch backwards and forward between the two modes. But — here’s the problem — we too often get stuck in the closed mode. Under the pressures which are all too familiar to us, we tend to maintain tunnel vision at times when we really need to step back and contemplate the wider view.

• This is particularly true, for example, of politicians. The main complaint about them from their nonpolitical colleagues is that they’ve become so addicted to the adrenaline that they get from reacting to events on an hour-by-hour basis that they almost completely lose the desire or the ability to ponder problems in the open mode.

• Cleese concludes with a beautiful articulation of the premise and promise of his recipe for creativity:

• This is the extraordinary thing about creativity: If just you keep your mind resting against the subject in a friendly but persistent way, sooner or later you will get a reward from your unconscious.

• For a related treat, see Cleese’s reprise of the talk nearly two decades later at the 2009 Creativity World Forum.

(source: Brain Pickings, Maria Popova)

How to take a closer look at faved images?

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:51:52 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

Does anybody know how to take a closer look at the images that you have faved yourself? I can't find any other possibility then looking at the thumbnails and click them one by one....

Flickr refugee or not?

nobody@ipernity.com (PhLB - Luc Boonen) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 19:45:58 +0000

PhLB - Luc Boonen has posted an article:

Recent changes in Flickr forced a lot of people to move out, in search of better virtual places to hang around.

Ipernity has a look and feel, familiar with the old Flickr. I decided to give it a try.

After a few months I realise you have to build a new network from scratch, it takes time and a lot of effort.

Flickr, on the other hand, corrected some of their worst mistakes, one gets acquainted to the new look.

At this moment I use them both.

Ipernity looks cleaner, a better platform for individual images. So far I presented just monochromes. It looks better than a mixture of monochrome and colour. Let me know if you have any comments.