My working definition of “abstract” is an image that doesn’t look like any thing (emphasis on “thing”.)  Secondarily, and perhaps closer to more common usage, it means to abstract an image from something real. That is, to focus less on realism and to pull out the essence of color, shape, and texture. Extreme examples of the former are Pollock and Rothko – neither of which I like. Also, their paintings are, arguably, not abstractions in this secondary definition. Personally, I consider impressionism as a first step towards this abstraction. But, of course, Georgia O’Keeffe’s flower paintings are examples of the latter definition and a primary influence of mine.

The titles include the size of the subject (from edge to edge of the image.) The number of stacked photos are in the description.

• Ode to Georgia O'Keeffe (White Iris) (3 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/White-Iris-FINAL-16x20-5X.jpg

  Certainly Georgia O’Keeffe is an inspiration for me. The sensuousness of her flower paintings and of this iris is captivating. O’Keeffe adamantly denied that her paintings were influenced by female genitalia. So she probably wouldn’t be happy with my calling her and my work “flower porn.” Perhaps this is a time when you have to allow the viewer to interpret art outside of the artist’s intent. I grew this while living in Rosamond, CA. It is the first studio picture I took that I was fully satisfied with. It is a single picture and not focus stacked. I debated putting this in the abstract gallery since the photographic sharpness makes this less abstract, but I put it here because O'Keeffe is considered an abstract artist.

  

• Schlumbergera Valentine (Solstice Cactus) (1/4 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Schlumbergera-valentine-solstice-cactus-16x20-FINAL-80X.jpg

  This commonly sold winter blooming cactus has gorgeous long flowers. I thought they would be an excellent subject for focus stacking. I never got a picture of the whole flower that I liked or that wasn’t fairly common. But then I looked at the back of the flower and got this abstract image. The name was inspired by a suggestion from my friend Victoria. The height of the subject is about ¼ inch. 252 stacked photos. Common names: Holiday Cactus, Solstice Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus, Crab Cactus

  

• Painted Cave (Wilted Gadiolus) (0.6 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/painted-cave-gadiolus-16x20-FINAL-34X.jpg

  Gladioli are very pretty. But I photograph subjects that are 1/8 to 1½ inches wide. At that size, gladioli don’t have the detail and abstraction I generally like in my pictures. My friend Barbara gave me this flower out of her garden and I put it in a vase. It started looking really interesting as it wilted. This reminds me of both the painted deserts and the show caves I’ve visited The height of the subject is about 0.6 inches. 111 stacked photos.

  

• Petal Maze (1/4 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/petal-maze-16x20-FINAL-80X.jpg

  This is the first abstract close-up that I was truly satisfied with. It is looking straight into some of the many petals of the flower. The depth of focus was exactly what I was hoping to be able to capture using photo stacking. Interestingly, the cultivated form looks nothing like the uncultivated 5 petaled Persian Buttercup. The height of the subject is about ¼ inch. 113 stacked photos.

  

• Depths of a Dried Daffodil (0.6 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/depths-of-a-dried-daffodil-16x20-FINAL-30X.jpg

  The depth of daffodil trumpets was a motivating reason for my interest in focus stacking. I’ve got some great pictures involving living narcissus trumpets, but they’re not the abstract images I shoot for. I often let flowers in vases dry out before I discard them. This was one of the first dried flowers I shot. The picture is across the opening of the dried trumpet. Writing this description is when I found out daffodils are a subgenre of narcissus. The height of the subject is about 0.6 inches. 62 stacked photos.

  

• Ribbon Candy (Pom Pom Dalhia) (0.14 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ribbon-candy-valda-pom-pom-dalhia-20x16-FINAL-135X.jpg

  My friend Joe invited me to a small concert by the band Steel Wool at the Grassroots Garden in Eugene. I’d never been there before and took a tour. In addition to the fresh produce they grow for Food For Lane County, they grow flowers. I was unaware of pom pom dahlias. So, of course, I had to take one home for picture taking. For some reason I thought this was a Valda dahlia, but I’ve been unable to confirm this. The width of the subject is about 0.14 inches. 32 stacked photos.

  

• Blue Canopy (Ragged Lady) (1/4 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blue-canopy-ragged-lady-20x16-FINAL-85X.jpg

  My friend Barbara turned her yard into a flower garden and this is one of the results. I’m glad she pointed it out to me. The juxtaposition of the different parts of the flower is fascinating. Blue Canopy invokes an oncoming storm to her. This is a part of the underside of a petal. The name is inspired by the green veins in the lower left that look like support struts. The width of the subject is less than 1/4 inch. 366 stacked photos. Common Names: Ragged Lady, Love in a Mist, and Devil in the Bush

  

• Daffodil Curve (2/3 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Daffodil-Curve-FINAL-20x16-1.jpg

  Daffodils are one of my favorite flowers and I grow a lot of them. The depth of the bell was a motivating factor for my starting to use focus stacking. But one of the beautiful things about daffodils is the way the petals of the bell curve. Getting in close like this removes the recognizable bell. The darker streak at the bottom is where the bell meets the base. The breadth of the subject is about 2/3 in. 59 stacked photos.

  

• Juptier Sky (dried peony tulip) (1/4 inch)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/jupiter-sky-peony-tulip-20x16-because-it-was-accepted-into-a-show.jpg

  This is one of the flowers Barbara brought me from her garden. To be honest, although I liked the color, she liked the shape more than I did. But when it was mostly dried out, I saw this patch of colors. This is about as abstract as it gets. I have a weird contradictory feeling about this. If someone painted this, it would only be so-so to me; I generally don’t like this type of abstract painting. But, since it’s a photograph of a real object, I find it fascinating. Partly because this illustrates that these types of abstract images exist in the real world and not just on a painter’s canvas.147 stacked photos.