Are you fond of abstracts, such as reflections, rust, or peeling paint? If so, then try gathering a half-dozen or so of your abstract images. If my hunch is correct, you have never considered flipping your images, yet chances are good that if you were to simply “flip” them with your photo-editing software, you might discover an even more dynamic image.

Here is one example, taken in the early morning summer hours at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. As you can see, we were shooting abstracts of the reflections of buildings and of locals and tourists strolling across the shallow reflecting pond. I framed up the composition, composing tightly around their reflection. When flipped for the second image, we are thrown off a bit, due to the abstract nature of this “new” composition. An effective abstract, in my view, is one that causes the viewer to stop and wonder, “What is that?” or “How was that done?”

Both images: Nikon D3X with Nikkor 70–300mm lens at 120mm, f/32 for 1/20 sec., ISO 100