Photography As Abstract – Lord of the Rings
Okay, this isn’t The Lord of the Rings, but the resulting image reminded me of the story somehow, to my eye there’s a mythic feel to it.
This is one of the abstract images I took last week (see the earlier post here). The subject is part of a wood gate where the sun and greenery could be seen behind it. I loved the carved wood in this and wanted to see what effect the sun behind it would have on the photo. I moved the camera in a downward slant from right to left as I pressed the shutter release, so that there would be movement in more than one way (the horizontal of the wood would add the counteracting element). This was the image I got.
I really like the other worldly feel of this. Do you get a similar feel? As always, let me know what you think of this one. Love hearing comments. (:
This was shot with my 35-70 lens at f/22 and a shutter speed of 1/6. I desaturated the photo a bit when processing the raw image, and that was it.
Image Copyright © Katie Johnson. All Rights Reserved.
Amazing photo…it just keeps you focused on it
Thank you so much, Filipe.
Very unique and very “Lord Of The Rings”….. nice work!
Thanks, Charleen.
Glad you can see the “Lord of the Rings” vibe. 
That’s great
I can see now that moving a camera while shooting a picture is a great way of transforming the view 
Thanks, Kristina. Glad you like the photo. Sometimes moving the camera does change the way we see things.
At first i wasn’t sure what it was,i never would have guessed it to be a wooden fence.But after reading your very imaginative visual i can’t help but see the stunning sunlight arches and the lined up hooded figures below.It’s a really engaging photo!…
Thanks, Michael! I can see how it could be a bit confusing at first, especially seeing it for the first time, without having seen the original subject. And your comment made me see those hooded figures.
Glad you find the image engaging. 
As I said before, you are amazingly creative, and have a great imagintion. Well done, Katie.
Ah, thanks once again for your wonderful comment, Bob! I really appreciate your comment on my creativeness and my imagination. Always makes me smile!
When I first saw it, I thought you have done some trickery with smoke. But after reading the description, my thoughts changed completely and I started matching the details you have mentioned. Really amazing. I’m sure you wouldn’t have known how it would turn out, but that’s the whole point isn’t it? The “unknown” and the eagerness. Thank you for sharing. I noticed that you have included the way you have moved your camera to take it. Thanks
It was totally fun to see how it turned out.
It is kind of magic, as you never can really have a clue how things will turn out when moving your camera when you shoot. You can plan for certain things, but you can’t really have a concrete idea. So fun to have the surprises. Thanks for your comment, Nandini. 
Love the photo
Thank you!
That’s a really neat effect! Love the surreal quality of the image; painterly effect with the light and shadow. Nice shot!!
Thanks for noticing all that, Steve!
I agree with the above comment that it looks like rows of hooded monks in a cathedral. Sort of a Rorschach image where different people can get different things out of it.
I didn’t see those monks until it was mentioned, and now i can’t help but seeing them. So much fun.
Thanks for your comment!
I liked the effect quite a bit – I’m going to browse through your archive.
Thank you! Check out my Abstract Photography Gallery also, if you want to see some more abstract work. Thanks for all your comments. Truly appreciate them!
To me, it resembles rows of spiritly bodies, lined up – marching…
Very cool.
OOOh, wouldn’t that be cool to see.
Thanks for your comment, Zoe. 
Way cool effect Katie!!
Thanks, David!
Great photo, a little eerie!
Ah, eerie. I can see how it can be that way.
Thanks for your comment.
I love the delicate, ghostly shapes in this image, and the yellow & green glow gives it a feeling of magic. It makes me wonder if that is what the world looks like from a spiritual perspective…frail, wispy souls filling a mostly colorless world, lit by that great energy we call by many names– God, the Universe, Nature, Love… great image!
Looks like Gregorian monks chanting!
LOL!
Thanks, Doc!
I can see what you are saying. It looks like spires, and a bit of mystical cloud.
Cool! Glad you are having fun playing with this.
Thanks, Cin! I really love the mystical feel to it. It just takes me away from a normal life.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing how you made the image. And now I can’t stop seeing the rows of hooded monks under the light pouring through a stained-glass window…
Everyone sees monks now, so my eye does too!
And the light pouring in–that was what really caught me when I processed the image. Thanks for your comment!
I like the effect on this.
When i first saw it, i saw ghostly hooded figures; it was like they were chanting, but a low chanting… I could see the Lord of the Rings after I read your description.
Very interesting and creative. Really like it
So glad you can see in to this abstract image and really like it.
This is a very cool image!
Thank you for your comment!
What an imaginary! You are amazing, Thank you dear Katie, with my love, nia
Ah, thanks, Nia! You are so sweet!
A lovely picture, I really like this one. A medieval mythic feeling. I share your thoughts about making the picture straight in camera. So I’m also working alot with camera movement in my photography.
/Per
Thanks Per. Glad you can get that mythical feeling to the photo. Now I’m off to check out your photography.
A lovely absract.
Thank you for you comment!
I really like this one. It”s amazing and it does remind me of the elves army
Exactly! So glad you can see in to this photo too.
I actually get a spiritual feeling from this. To me, they spikes now look like rows and rows of candles. Very interesting.
I love that you get a spiritual feeling from it. I can see that also. Thanks for your comment!
This, too, is lovely. It’s great that you decided to try some abstract photography
Thanks! I’m doing more abstract work, so we’ll see.
Love the effect!!!
Thank you!
Watch out, the nazgûls are coming! And this time there are far more than just nine of them, plus they are all nice and shiny….
This is what poped into my head when reading the title. A pretty neat piece of work though. I love abstract photography, just never really manage to get the feel right myself. Any tips or advises on the subject?:)
Perfect!
The Nazguls. 
How I love this mythology. Thanks so much for the comment. As to doing abstract, I’ve been playing around with it (and love it), and the camera settings are basically the smallest aperture (highest number) I can go, which gives me a slow shutter speed. I find a subject that has some depth to it (like this photo had wood bars and behind it was someone’s yard, so green and sun). And then I move the camera as I press the shutter release. I move the camera in different ways depending on what I’m shooting. It’s a hit and miss at this point (but getting better), as you can’t know what you’re getting at first. Looking at the photos on the view screen helps me to adjust what movement I’m taking. I find it’s good to take photos when there is some sun/shadow also. Hope that helps a bit. 
I like your idea on Photography as Abstract. I might try to do like this.
Thanks for the inspiration
Glad you like it! I’m going to post more!
Thanks so much for visiting my blog
I like this one a lot. Very cool.
Ah, thank you, Lloyd!
I really love the patterns of this picture.. it really amazed me..
Ah, thank you! So glad you liked this image.
Looks like an army of Ring Wraiths to me. Very cool photo.
Exactly! Thanks!