I participated in a project in 2014 based on assignments from the On Taking Pictures podcast, which I listen to every week. The assignments continue, and while I participate much less frequently now, the "Square" assignment from a year ago was one that put some boundaries around my love of abstraction.
From that project I have since built up a body of work that now comprise my "Compressions" and "Tiles" projects. My Tiles project is mostly built around shooting to create square images instead of the native 2:3 ratio shots that are indicative of the 35mm sensor. While I share some of the photos between the projects, not all of the tiles are abstractions.
This is one of the original shots from my Square assignment last year that inspired me to create this work. I am drawn to strong colors and shapes, which are very dominant in this and other photos from the day. I also like the three dimensional features of the electrical lines and piping, the horizontal bar below, and the three diagonal posts in the upper right corner that act as visual anchors and add interesting lines and shapes.
Projects like this are a nice change from the landscapes and object photography that I regularly shoot, and I hope that over time one type of photography will inform the others. If nothing else, it provides me something to shoot when the lighting is terrible or if I find myself far removed from more traditionally photographed subjects.