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If you take a photo of an everyday object and photograph it in such a way that viewers will focus on its shapes and textures, rather than identifying the object immediately, then you have the essence of ‘Abstract’ photography which was the title of last month’s LADCC photo competition.

 

A beautiful array of images, of all shapes and sizes, were produced by the members who, this month, turned some recognizable items into completely unrecognizable images. They used colours, shapes, patterns, textures and clever editing to evoke emotions and provoke interpretation. Photos ranged from World War 2 rations and old bananas to modern architecture and paintings, but all provoked discussion at our meeting at Las Claras in Los Alcázares.

 

Questions such as “What on earth is that?” and “How did you manage to do that?” were asked many times but some members were still left shaking their heads, even after explanations, stating “Well, I can’t see that!!” This inevitably led to a large variation in marks for some photos, although it was clear that the best photo had won. Twelve of the club’s membership participated in this month’s competition but thirteen voted.

 

The well-deserved winner, Gary Hull, produced a top-class image entitled ‘Warped’. His photo was beautifully constructed and involved the assembly of over 20 coloured pencils arranged so that there were even spaces between the pencils. Another 10 pencils were placed across the top of these and then Gary placed a long-stemmed wine glass, containing water, on top of these pencils. He took the photo directly above the glass, ensuring that the lighting took out any unnecessary shadows. By photographing directly downwards this created the ‘warping’ effect that the glass and water had on the pencils. Members agreed that the clever idea, and the work put into this, made for a very colourful and interesting abstract image.

 

 

 

The competition also saw a number of the club’s newer members produce top quality photos - perhaps ‘Abstract’ is their ‘thing’? The topic seems to have really got the members thinking and there were some superb photos submitted. Coming in a well-deserved second place was Neil Twigg’s ‘A is for abstract’ which cleverly summed up the competition with a photograph of a large new build villa on the front line in Los Alcázares.

 

 

 

Shot in black and white, Neil advised us that he increased the highlights and shadows, as well as cropping and rotating the image as he wanted to give the appearance of a graphic rather than a photograph. This was only achievable because of timing. According to Neil, the angle of the sun sat perfectly for him to create the shadows that formed the A in the top left of the image. Neil told us that he has passed this house many times since and never have the shadows sat as perfectly as they did that day. Right time, right place! Well done Neil!

 

LADCC takes a bit of a break for the summer now, although the monthly competitions will be continuing. The club members may meet on an informal basis to discuss their topics and try out photographic ideas, probably using local hostelries which they did last summer! The next meeting at the Las Claras Centre will be on the 1st of September.

 

Outside of the summer months this popular camera club usually meets twice a month, at the Las Claras Centre in Los Alcázares, on the first Tuesday of every month. Occasionally we participate with an outing towards the end of the month, where the group gets together to collectively work on the topic for the monthly competition. With modern day technology we can all keep in contact for training sessions, sharing knowledge etc via ‘group chats’. We are interested in hearing from anyone who would like to join us when the opportunity arises.

 

If you would like more information about the Club please do not hesitate to look at our website, www.ladcc.es, or email us at informationladcc@gmail.com