Abstract (or) Failure

There is no age limit when it comes to learning something new. In fact, it keeps the mind young and agile. Just like back in the day, the process implies mistakes; we stumble, we get frustrated, and eventually we experience that rush which comes with every sign of improvement. Hopefully we manage to persevere until those signs become obvious. Hopefully we don’t lose patience with ourselves. Hopefully we don’t let frustration, disappointment and criticism get the better of us. Hopefully… we have the time, strength and discipline to hope.

What prompted this sudden rush of profound thinking, you might ask? Well, blame it on Patti and her great topic for this week’s Lens Artists Challenge – Abstract.

Since I must have been very good, Santa brought me a DSLR camera last year. Since this particular Santa knows me for well over 20 years, he knew the gift could go either way, from certain points of view at least. It was something I wanted, he was aware of it; but he was hoping I wouldn’t end up hating it… Well, as it turns out, it was an inspired idea.

From the very beginning, I decided on two aspects. First – there was no point in dragging the heavy camera with me unless I learnt how to use it properly, not just set in on Auto. Second – I had to accept the learning process might prove frustrating and I was not going to let it spoil the fun of the hobby. Anyway, a good time was had and we shared lots of laughs over my photographic failures. Naturally, I tried my luck with the Christmas tree as a subject… which, in retrospect, might not have been my brightest idea. Just pass them off as abstracts, my friend suggested, laughing… which of course led to a conversation about how one person might see an abstract masterpiece in what someone else might perceive as talentless failure. Just like beauty, art is in the eye of the beholder. Joking aside, I appreciate abstraction, I find comfort in all the possibilities and interpretations it provides.

I kept some of those abstract failures as a reminder. No worries, my skills have improved some, at least now you can generally tell what’s in the photo.

By New Year’s Eve I managed to learn a few things about camera settings and I was having fun capturing these abstract sparks.

This summer I was aiming for the moon. 🙂 Well… for the lunar eclipse at least. Such a simple image… yet what a complexity of interpretations and dreams the moon can trigger.

Patti’s challenge brought to mind several works of art, but Nature is probably my favourite abstract artist. Life and art, at the same time…