“I Would Photograph Horseshit and Make It Look Beautiful” – Interview with Abstract Photographer Lester Hayes

Tue, May 25, 2010

Abstract

Today I want to share a great YouTube video of Lester Hayes, a photographer who specialized in abstract photography. In many ways Hayes was a pioneer in abstract photography.

It seems ridiculous that no one had taken abstract pictures with a camera.

Hayes, who was nearly 100 years old at the time of the interview, talks about his technique and experience with the first Kodak Instamatic camera with which he used to create his abstract works.

I know nothing about photography. I had a talent for it. I didn’t know why it worked. I know what it did for me.

There’s a lot to take away from this interview (which will also make you laugh a couple of times) and if nothing else certainly just the joy of viewing some of Hayes’ excellent photographs. I hit the ‘pause’ button several times and just enjoyed looking at the photographs included in this presentation (admittedly I’m big fan of abstract photography).

Kudos to Anthony Mournian for sharing this video with us all.

Make yourself a good cup of coffee and take a seven minute coffee break. You deserve it!

Everything is beautiful if you take a photograph of it from a proper angle under the proper lighting conditions.

  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • RSS
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter

If you liked this article, you may also like these:

, , ,

This post was written by:

- who has written 202 posts on Photography 24/7.

Thomas is the editor and founder of Photography 24/7. He lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two daugthers. If you liked this post, why not receive updates when new posts are published? Subscribe to the feed via RSS or EMAIL to get instant updates on new posts.

Contact the author

5 Responses to ““I Would Photograph Horseshit and Make It Look Beautiful” – Interview with Abstract Photographer Lester Hayes”

  1. Diana Eftaiha Says:
    25. May 2010 at 11:07 pm

    very nice video very inspirational indeed. i loved the shot of the fish and those ones of the sand kinda makes me think why not try some abstract photography myself. ive never really considered that till now

    Reply

  2. Thomas Says:
    25. May 2010 at 11:17 pm

    Hi Diana,

    Thanks for your comment. If you’re thinking about Abstract Photography I’ve got more great inspiration lined up for you tomorrow! ;-)

    Cheers,
    Thomas

    Reply

  3. Bill McClaren Says:
    26. May 2010 at 3:45 am

    Thanks for pointing us to the Lester Hayes video, which I enjoyed very much. It’s a great example of how a simple tool (the Kodak Instamatic) can be used to create beautiful art, i.e., it’s not the gear, it’s the “eye” and point-of-view of the photographer. From the Hayes video, I found a video on William Eggleston, which I’ve posted on my blog, http://bmcclaren.wordpress.com/. Thanks for helping me start my day with a smile. — Bill

    Reply

    • Thomas Says:
      26. May 2010 at 8:50 am

      Hi Bill, thanks for your positive comment and I’m glad you enjoyed the video.

      I bougt a DVD about Eggleston a little while ago and must admit I’m still trying to get my head around his work. He’s an interesting person too though.

      Cheers,
      Thomas

      Reply

Leave a Reply