Banner image by Hosssu
Yeah, so we took an impromptu holiday break. What, do we work for you or somethin’? ( ˘ ³˘)♥ It’s the_abecedarian here again in the year of our blog, 2025. Today we’re embracing landscapes, mallscapes, and fairground-scapes. It’s a big world out there and, as we all know, it’s important to capture as many miles as physically possible in a single photo frame. Or whatever landscape photographers value aesthetically I have no idea lol.
Gallery Gems
Hosssu starts us on our journey with a lovely minimalist look at Finland. The river gives us a starting point until it passes the forest edge to disappear into the fog and around a bend, which connects up nicely to a distant treeline. The combination of the high-key exposure, fog, and overcast sky really gives this shot an atmosphere of bright, frigid beauty.
And here is the inverse! Myshra gives us a dark, grainy minimalism, as a few sunrays punch through the cloudy sky to illuminate a distant river. The barely-distinct layers of mountains, the textured sky, and the gentle sun-glow are beautifully set off by the shadows taking up most of the frame. From our dark overlook, the distant glow of the horizon offers us a destination.
Okay that was fun but let’s go inside for a sec. Inside a dead mall! The room itself is almost ceremonial in layout: two light panels (or skylights?) illuminate a shaped, two-tiered pool with a few steps down into it, like a ritual bath. The hallways leading to this point are lined with ex-stores that imitate an important street in a small city. The stripped-bare mall aesthetics brings to mind a combination of the backrooms and — stay with me here — the quiet stone side streets of Siena, Italy. The element that makes it for me, though, is the sign saying “Re-Discover Northwest Mall Food Court”, because that’s exactly what we’re doing — rediscovering the space in a totally different context than intended.
But we’re ending on a more vibrant note! No more silent places, we want movement, rides, and people! The composition here breaks the “rules” in an interesting way: while it’s generally frowned-upon to let your frame be bisected by a pole or other element, this image is actually cut up by the poles, the railing, the light strips on the ride’s roof and central core, and the arms holding the seats. The effect is like a mosaic and it is enhanced by the placement of the people cleanly and strictly into each segment. The railing leads the eye through the image to tie it all together.
Community Collaborations
Collage College
Managed by Samgerers
It doesn’t take much to attend collage college. Make ’em, discuss ’em, appreciate ’em! Collage images on a device or with paper & scissors, with your own images or with others’, whatever works! No deadlines, no pressure, no worries, just fun times mashin’ up images together.
So yeah, it turns out there is still art in 2025. Even in this economy! And we all got to experience it asynchronously together. I think that’s special! Can’t wait to do it again soon.
(^0^)/~~catch ya later!
the_abecedarian
Check out my website for more of my work!