[matthew]

"The taste for quotations (and the juxtaposition of incongruous quotations) is a Surrealist taste."
- Susan Sontag

Surrealist.com defines surrealism as "a style of art and literature developed principally in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or nonrational significance of imagery arrived at by automatism or the exploitation of chance effects, unexpected juxtapositions, etc." (my emphasis) Traditionally, it is the idea of a super-reality, using dream imagery to express an artists' vision. In more common use, something can be said to be surreal if it contains an unexpected juxtaposition of objects.

So, how can photography, which is a literal and representative art form, capture the unexpected dream-imagery of the surreal? Surprisingly, it is the very literal 'truth' to photography that becomes its strength in expressing this alternative vision. Much of street and documentary photography is effective because of its juxtaposition of unlikely elements, capturing and emphasizing the oddities that might otherwise be missed. Other times, photographs can have a surreal quality simply because of the treatment and isolation of the subject.

For this assignment, I'm asking you to think about how you choose and present your subjects. I admit that this is an odd, and somewhat introspective assignment, but selecting our subjects is one of the least-considered aspects of photography. Normally, we simply shoot what we like, but for the next two weeks, ask yourself: "Why?"

It may be that surrealism isn't to your taste, but give it a try anyway. It may be that this is something you've been working with for a while, and just need a nudge to get thinking about it. (Don, are you reading this?) Either way, use this thread for further exploration.

Some useful links, for those who want to read further:

http://www.surrealist.com/
http://www.sauer-thompson.com/junkforcod...raphy.html
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=75
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism

...and, of course, I invite discussion (and corrections!) on anything I've presented.

[matthew]

flowers

[slejhamer]

[Russt]

Mitch, really like these in particular the second........I like the composition with both the diagonal line and the focus.......works well.

[Irma]

I don't know if I got the idea right... could this be surrealism?

Thanks for your help...

[smarti77]

Traditionally, it is the idea of a super-reality, using dream imagery to express an artists' vision.

Not something I've attempted before. I decided to go hard with the surrealism...

[Pat]

Surreal/Abstract? probably more abstract - but I had a lot of fun with Corel Draw which I hadn't used for a while

[guerito]

Basil

I experimented with a double layer of clingwrap held in front of the lens. And some post processing. The result reminds me of how I used to see things when I experimented with LSD, thirty years ago...

[matthew]

I've been stunned by the images here -- the experimentation and innovation is fantastic to see.

Me, I'm just plodding along, and barely get the camera out anymore. Here's one from last weekend that caught my eye...




...but it's a weak example. Looking at it now, I realize that I should have cropped it tighter to remove the edges of the advertising image. If I had a tripod, this would have been a good candidate for extensive depth of field.

[Keith Alan]

This is called "Shroud Of Failed CCD"

Straight from the camera, which has just had a total sensor failure.
It reminds me of another famous shroud, and may have looked better in sepia.

[Keith Alan]

"Julie"