CREATE ABSTRACT ART

 Polarising filters have long been the best friend of landscape photographers. They help to cut down on polarised light in the atmosphere, allowing you to create more contrast in the sky with deeper blues. However, they can also be used to reveal the polarised light emitted by modern digital displays. In fact, most modern displays emit polarised light, so if you have a TV, computer monitor, laptop, tablet or smartphone, then you can bank on it emitting polarised light.

Due to this, you can use a budget polarising filter to create amazing abstract art, by placing items like cutlery onto these screens and then turning the filter until only the polarised light is visible. This will illuminate your plastic items in weird, vibrant, otherworldly colours. Placing your cutlery in a regular pattern helps to create an interesting composition.

For this project you’ll need a camera with a kit lens (though a macro lens can also be useful for these close-up still-life setups), a tripod, a computer monitor, some plastic cutlery, and also a circular polarising filter that fits the filter thread of your lens – these can be picked up for about £5/$5 online if you don’t already own one. And when buying a polariser, always make sure you go for a circular polariser rather than a linear one, as the latter can interfere with autofocusing systems. Here’s how to create this abstract art…

BEFORE

Full range of light With no polariser attached we get the full range of light – both polarised and non-polarised – so the screen still appears bright, and the cutlery doesn’t stand out

All images © Dan Mold

AFTER

Illuminating With the polariser now set to block out all the non-polarised light, we can see the plastic cutlery beautifully illuminated, turning our ordinary objects into the extraordinary

1  Go into full screen Create a blank white A4-sized document in Photoshop, then click the Full Screen mode icon at the bottom of the Toolbox. You’ll see a panel appear – click Full Screen, then zoom in so it fills the screen.

2  Prepare the screen Turn the screen brightness up to maximum, then take a soft microfibre cloth and clean the screen to remove any dust and fingerprints that could show up in the final image.

3  Position your cutlery Now it’s time to position your plastic cutlery. Give the cutlery a quick clean with your microfibre cloth, and gently place them on the screen. Tessellating patterns work particularly well.

4 Dial in settings We’re shooting handheld, using Manual mode with an aperture of f/4, shutter speed of 1/200 sec and ISO 1000. You can do it with a tripod if you prefer, which would enable you to use lower ISO values.

5 Attach a polarising filter Attach your circular polarising filter to the front filter ring of your lens, compose your shot, and turn the polariser ring until the screen becomes completely black – or white if you prefer.

6 Shoot Focus on the piece of cutlery you want to be pin-sharp, and take the shot. Check the image on the back of the camera, and adjust your exposure accordingly to get it as light or dark as you want.