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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #274 – Asymmetry

Scarlett Place Condos.

Last week, Sofia challenged us with “symmetry”. This week, to close the bookends, Donna brings us “asymmetry” for us to consider. In her Wind Kisses blog, Donna introduces this week’s challenge with these comments, “Last week, with Sofia’s inspiration we showcased symmetry. We viewed impeccable photos with clarity in the balance we strive for, and crave. But beauty in photography does not always mean symmetry or perfection. This week, we will stretch our legs a bit with, Asymmetry – an informal sense of balance.” You can read her entire challenge post here.

I start my response with architecture. In Baltimore Maryland, an unusually designed condo that features outdoor terraces for many units necessitated an unusual asymmetrical design. It’s one of the most unusual condominium designs I’ve ever seen.

Cape Creek Bridge.

Many bridges are symmetrical in design, but this bridge in Oregon certainly is not. The bridge’s most distinctive feature is its two-tiered viaduct section, reminiscent of a Roman aqueduct.

The Denver Botanical Garden.

In a sense, the walkway could be considered symmetrical but if you look at it another way, you’ll realize it’s not exactly. Let me explain. Though analyzing the left and right, the walkway and green areas appear to be symmetrical except for different plants, however the tall trees all taper toward the distance, and the trees bordering the garden area are shorter at the far end from where this photo was captured. The walkway messes with your perceptions as the shorter trees in the distance make the walkway appear to be much longer than it really is.

Cellpic Art.

Nature doesn’t always provide “natural symmetry” though generally we think of leaves of a species of trees and plants being generally symmetrical on the longer side and asymmetrical at the narrow ends. Last fall, I found an interestingly colored leaf lying on the ground. At the time I was focused on the asymmetrical color scheme and I put it on a placemat to capture a cellphone photo. When I got the image loaded into Lightroom Classic, I saw some potential for an abstract design. I sent the photo to Adobe Photoshop and started playing with filters. I can’t remember what filter combination I used, but whatever I did, I kept it subtle. I imagined that this image could be found in a hotel room somewhere.

Sunken Gardens at Lincoln, Nebraska.

On one of our first overnight stops while traveling on our annual fall trip this year, we were in Lincoln Nebraska. We stopped at a small garden and I captured many images of the beautiful and serene location. At some point in the future, I’ll share more images of the garden, so here’s a teaser image that happens to fit the challenge. These two waterfalls parallel two sets of stairs that descend into the sunken garden. I put my Samsung S23U into Pro mode and braced myself for a 1/15-second handheld exposure to blur the motion of the water in the falls. Pro mode gave me a DNG file to work with in Lightroom Classic and Luminar Neo.

Fishing in Kearney Nebraska.

I often use the rule of thirds to frame my compositions and this fisherman made an excellent subject for a black-and-white conversion. By its nature, most rule-of-thirds-based images are asymmetrical.

Hoover Dam Lookie Loos.

In 2018 we visited Hoover Dam. Though I got many images of the dam and the Colorado River, as I approached the edge of the walkway on the reservoir side of the dam, I saw these three gentlemen peering over the edge. I thought it made for an interesting composition. I didn’t even think about the asymmetrical design.

CSS Albemarle.

At the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia, I was impressed by the many exhibits including this full-size recreation of the Confederate ship Albemarle at dock in Plymouth, North Carolina. The design of the exhibit required an asymmetrical composition.

True confession department: This image was an experiment in using Photoshop’s new Generative Fill tool. The landscape paintings in the background didn’t extend beyond the view of the two images I used to create this panorama. I used Generative Fill to extend portions of the image at the top and on the dock on the lower left. Next week’s Travel Tuesday post about the National Civil War Naval Museum includes a short “show-and-tell” about how this composite image was created. This image is best viewed on my Flickr site. You can find this week’s gallery of asymmetry here.

Thanks again to Sofia and Donna for the back-to-back symmetry challenges. On Saturday at noon EST, look for Anne’s Lens-Artists Challenge #275.

John Steiner

37 comments

  5. An interesting assortment 🙂 I like the Hoover Dam shot and your classic rule of thirds one. And I’ll be curious to read more about the editing on that final shot!

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  6. The mother-in-law of a famous friend of mine used to live in Scarlett Place. I was born and raised in Baltimore, but wouldn’t live there again under any circumstances. It has the third-highest rate of violent crime of any city in the US.

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    • When I told friends and colleagues about my having to go to Baltimore for a meeting, I was given plenty of advice regarding the city’s reputation. We kept ourselves within walking distance of the Inner Harbor area.

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  8. As always well done John!. Loved the opener, really such a unique structure. Also loved the AI generated image. I’ve been playing with P/S AI and having serious fun with it altho I’ll admit it’s not quite as easy to use as the online videos make it seem! Also loved your scene of the 3 guys looking over the edge – excellent get on that one!

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    • Thanks, Tina! I’ve struggled with Generative Fill, but have also had great success. Just recently, Skylum Software added GenErase to Luminar Neo. It’s a bit easier to use, but less effective.

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    • I would have loved to take a tour of one of the units. They are expensive. I looked online to find units in the building for sale. I didn’t see any interior photos, and they are quite a bit out of my price range. 🙂

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  10. Great gallery John. The condo is very unique and if there is one thing I learned about asymmetry and buildings this week, it is… there are a lot of architects who enjoy eclectic art. I found your walkway at the Denver Botanical Garden interesting. We learned, in an underground tour of Disney World, of that same technique. When you enter Main Street is has the appearence of being way off, and on the way out the opposite effect. Interesting how architecture, physics can play with our minds. Very nice.

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  11. Great post for this challenge John! Your opening building was awesome. I’d love to see it in person. And the three guys on the bridge was great. I was drawn to their feet and how each positioned themselves to see what they were looking at.

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  13. Excellent. I like ’em all. GF, a modest new use of AI? Not as bad as the new phone camera I see advertised that turns faces to face forward. It’s not real!

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    • Any use of AI bends reality, but when you think about it, using the clone tool to erase unwanted items has bent reality in images since the creation of digital software manipulation. Philosophically speaking, what is the difference if the manipulation is automated? >grin<
      If I were a photojournalist, I would have a different opinion, but I am an artist. That’s my story and I am sticking to it! 😇

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  15. Great post, John. I love the bridge and the sunken gardens, well captured. But my favourite is the three men 🙂 Love that one for some reason, maybe it’s all the denim, they look colour coded…

    Reply

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