This week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is Pattern. It’s everywhere.
Ponder this:
Does the key to the ubiquity of patterns in our world lie within our perceiving brain, or outside of us? Both? Is there any way to know?
And this:
“How is it that a man made, artificial, technological system is behaving like a natural system? The more efficient it becomes, the more it looks like nature…” From a video by Jason Silva called, TO UNDERSTAND IS TO PERCEIVE PATTERNS.
Watch it – it’s only 105 seconds long, and it will set your brain spinning.
Read about Jason Silva, who’s been called and “Idea DJ” whose short videos are “shots of philosophical espresso.” Hey, no wonder I liked that video!
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Patterns have always motivated artists. Whether you locate them inside your perceiving brain, or outside in “nature” (however you define that), they’re ubiquitous. I need to narrow down this vast subject, so I’ve chosen patterns in leaves and branches, because they have interested me as long as I can remember. I’ve abstracted these photographs in Photoshop, mostly using the Posterize and Cutout filters. It’s clear that the patterns I perceived here are at least partly inside my head. I suspect some will resonate with patterns in your head, too.
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More PATTERNS await discovery at the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge.
To spin your mind harder, try googling “Pattern perception brain” and then add “Philosophy.” The two links below look interesting, but it’s warm and sunny out, it’s spring, and I think my brain’s telling me it’s had enough of the computer screen. For now.
http://nivea.psycho.univ-paris5.fr/Synthese/MyinFinal.html
http://www.newdualism.org/papers/J.Smythies/Perception_1-1.htm
bluebrightly 
A very creative take on the challenge!
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Thank you very much; it was fun to take a different tack.
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cool clicks
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Thanks Amar!
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what a lovely pattern. it looks so inspiring, Blue. 🙂
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Thank you very much – I’m glad you liked it.
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Very cool post, Lynn! It reminds me of biomimicry and biomimetics.
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…which I know little to nothing about. Thanks, Andelieya!
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Love your treatment of the images – abstraction really pulls out the patterns. And Jason Silva is one of my favorites.
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Ah, so you know him, and I guess that should figure. Thank you very much Lynn.
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I found Silva on TED Talks; I love his way of thinking. Also, exploring the perception of patterns is a huge interest of mine – I am always fascinated by how we are a pattern seeking species. How it plays out in both nature and in art forms intrigues me as a foundation of the natural world and also as a part of human perception. Do you remember those posters that looked like an array of tiny dots but if you looked long enough, you could perceive hidden images? That’s what got me started looking for patterns in things. OK, now I have to go out with my camera and explore this in more detail 🙂
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So, I hope you did get out with your camera and lost yourself in all this –
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Awesome! I love the thought and the photos. Great work to abstract them so the patterns were the focus. I’m interested to check out Jason Silva too. Thanks!
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I’m so glad to hear that! Glad you stopped by & thanks for your thoughts. At the minimum, watch the video – it’s only 105 seconds long and it’s fun.
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Great to see something different and creative for a challenge BB . I love the cactus with tiny red points and the spiky one that could be ‘something’ from under a microscope .. oh … and the autumn leaves !
So many possibilities with photoshop aren’t there 🙂 can see you had fun !
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Poppy, there are too many possibilities. Thanks for your comments!
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Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge – Pattern: Roofs | Flickr Comments
he who created the plants must have had a passion for experiments with different patterns 🙂
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Hmmm. He or she or…? Yes, they appear infinite, don’t they? And you don’t have to go far to find new ones.
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love that.
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Thank you!
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I confess, I see the world in patterns and textures. I’m also partial to a little polerization and I particularly like 9 and 10. I’ve not had much success with the cut out filter, but you’ve encouraged me to have another go! (Incidentally, did you notice the female profile towards the top left corner?)
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I know you’re a pattern person, I do! I don’t see her and I’m not sure which photo she’s in. As for the cutout filter, it seems to reduce the saturation & contrast, making images muddier, so I found if I increase contrast & saturation, or exaggerate levels before applying the cutout filter that sometimes works better, or I’ll do that after applying the filter. #10 (fall leaves on the ground) was taken with an early digital camera – it’s 1.3 megapixels. Makes you realize you work with any image; you don’t have to have a lot of megapixels!
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In the second photo. About a quarter of the way in from the left and a third way down from the top, there is a pale female face facing right, with pink/mauve eye shadow, green eyebrow and green head scarf.
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Got it – made me chuckle – she looks like a 50’s cartoon, but a bit more elegant.
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Great patterns and fantastic quotes to ponder. I like artists Agnes Martin’s idea that her head was an open vessel waiting for ideas to land in it for her to paint.
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I hadn’t heard that, but I’ve been lucky enough to see many of her paintings firsthand and I have great respect for her work. It makes sense as a quote from her, for sure. Her work is full of patterns , isn’t it? What I love is looking really closely at the textures of her lines and paint on the canvas, then moving way back and seeing the whole… going back and forth. You can’t get that sense of how the details make the whole from a reproduction. Thanks for your comment!
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Wonderful expression BB … ty
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Thank you!
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love them all, but especially the last one.. something with the details..:-D beautiful!
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Thank you – yes, I think some of the really simplified ones would be good as fabrics and the detailed ones read more like photos.
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These are really cool pictures. I love what you did to them! 🙂
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do you ever get tired of me telling you how talented you are?!!!
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Never, never, never, Lisa! Never gets old… 🙂
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and what would you chose to visualize ESCAPE?
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Thinking….and thanks for the nudge!
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Love them all but want the second from the bottom to paper the walls of my fantasy bathroom!
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That could work, couldn’t it? Or it could be a nice print fabric…
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Oh wow, your patterns are exquisite and beautiful. I adore your artistry. Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I cherish your visits. All the best to you and for your creative journey. Michele
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And the best to you, too – I loved the poem I saw on your site today – thanks for commenting, too!
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I love the spiky plants and the leaves that look wet. I’m not sure about some of these apps; I’m still into old fashioned photography! 🙂
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Which you do very well! Thanks Cathy!
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