Urban environments can be a frenetic mass of contrasts, vibrant or mundane, lively or eerie, beautiful or drab. For a photographer, it’s easy enough to capture how places like this look, but it’s more of a challenge to convey how they feel. To get a sense of a place without the distractions of detail, we can turn to abstract techniques. Intentional blur, multiple exposures, unusual camera angles and digital mash-ups can all help us emphasise the emotion of the place, and create wall-worthy art that feels more in touch with the work of impressionist painters than it does with what you might call ‘normal photography’.
In this project we’ll look at a range of techniques you can try out on the streets. Camera skills are often about eliminating shake, keeping scenes in focus and preventing wonky horizons, but here we’ll throw all that out the window. Instead, we’ll celebrate the blur and the softness. When you think about it, streets and buildings are these rather simple geometric shapes and lines, dotted with people and lights. As such, they’re ripe for an abstract treatment, as we can reduce the elements down to blurry strokes of colour, impressions of people and flowing shapes, while still retaining the spirit of the scene.
You don’t need any special equipment or lenses for this – in fact, even the cheapest lens will produce results just as good as premium optics. What’s more, you can try this in all conditions – sunny, overcast, rainy, even at night. So embrace the abstract, grab your camera and hit the streets…
This story is from the August 2023 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TELEPHOTO ZOOM LENSES
If you're fired up by all of this year's sporting activities, here are the best telephoto zooms for Canon EOS R system and DSLR cameras. Grab the action!
SIGMA 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN IC
This is Sigma's first Canon RF mount lens - and the six-year wait has been worth it for this pocket-sized powerhouse
Create cinematic stunners
Master the tools in DPP to deliver drama and a cinematic feel for powerful images
Operation: Night Hunter
Anthony was out until 2am photographing Tawny Owls hunting for supper in the dark set myself the target of photographing Tawny Owls at night.
Fix 'flat' autumn images in Lightroom
If your images aren't showing the full range of autumnal hues, here's one way to fix them, says Sean McCormack
The art of copying art
James Paterson shows you how to use your Canon gear to capture artwork and paintings the right way with simple camera and lighting skills
Searching for snakes
Jim travels to Thailand in search of snakes and the newly classified Tenasserim Pit Viper - all in 100% humidity!
ELLIE ROTHNIE
Lauren Scott catches up with the awardwinning wildlife pro photographer Ellie Rothnie. She’s now a Canon Ambassador, and creates content while her photography still reveals stunning skill and fieldcraft...
YORKSHIRE'S DELIGHTFUL DALES
This month we pair up landscape pro Paul Grogan with PhotoPlus reader Stephen for a photo tour around the picturesque Yorkshire Dales
Letting go with composition
How a walk to Side Pike in the Lake District changed my approach and my attitude to using pure instinct for image construction