Whether viewing from high above in an airplane or up close with a macro lens, beautiful abstract patterns are found everywhere within landscape photography. One of my favorite ‘techniques’ or ‘exercises’ to keep inspired and in a creative headspace is to keep an eye out for visually abstract patterns while I am photographing in nature. It has become a fun way to challenge myself creatively and push myself to capture what I feel are unique images.
These two abstract images of a large king penguin colony on South Georgia Island were completely unexpected. I shot these using a telephoto lens to compress the penguins together and let the repetition in their bodies be the abstract pattern.
One of my favorite abstract landscape photography images I’ve shot is of Iceland’s glacial streams from high above in an airplane. As the glacial melt flows out into various streams, they become braided and create the most intricate patterns I’ve ever seen. Several years after photographing the glacial streams in Iceland, I shot a closeup photo of a bear’s fur. I like sharing these images side by side because to me, they have a very similar pattern and the bear’s fur is hard to recognize at first.
