Abstract photography is arguably one of the most creative genres of photography. Sometimes, though, nature has done most of the work for us. 

From time to time, I love doing abstract photography. Finding shapes, lines and curves in my surroundings and giving them a meaning (more or less) that is detached from their actual physical being always involves a kind of mind shift I find very refreshing. Very often, these abstract photos involve techniques like ICM (intentional camera movement) or demand some further work in post processing like blur filters, colorizing etc. like in these examples:

It is always great fun to create those images because it is easy to get lost on a flow-like state of mind of playful creativity.

However, sometimes nature is an abstract artist, too, and an incredible one at that. Check out this gallery for some examples:

In those cases, all you need to take them is to see them. No extensive image manipulation or shooting wizardry is required, just some basic image enhancement to counteract the negative side effects of the photographic process. It’s just nature in all of its beautiful simplicity. Of course, it’s always the photographer who frames his shot and decides what to include and what not. But apart from that, it’s only nature showing its creative self.

Have you done abstract photography (natural or not) yourself? Share away links to your galleries in the comments!