Eons: A Symphony of Emotions Captured in Stone

Chris Slabber's Award-Winning Exhibition Photography Series

Slabber's inspiration for Eons came from the stark contrasts created by sunlight on rock textures. The lines, light and dark areas, and angles of the rock formations, when captured in the right composition, become art. Living next to a nature reserve provided Slabber with ample opportunities to explore and capture these natural wonders. Each rock face, with its unique personality and characteristics, was studied meticulously to extract the beauty from what would otherwise be seen as just a rock.

The series is dedicated to exploring rock and stone textures. The sandstone cliff, discovered while hiking, has been carved by the elements for years. Slabber wondered about the wisdom these rocks possess, what they have seen over eons. By framing each image strategically, the textures become abstract works of art.

The rock formations were transformed into abstract art works by choosing the right composition and the right balance of light to create dramatic shadow and light contrasts. The images were captured using natural light and a Canon 5DsR with a 24mm - 70mm 2.8 lens. The post-production was done using photoshop and a camera raw plugin.

These images were shot using a Canon 5DsR that has a medium format sensor, enabling Slabber to enlarge the print size to a billboard size. These images are aimed at interior decoration, therefore the size of the images will depend on the client's needs. The photographs can also be produced in various finishes such as C-Type Fuji Metallic Gloss, Black & White Ilford Fibre-Based, Diasec (an archival mounting and framing method) and White Metal prints.

This series is aimed at interior decoration and branding. Because of their abstract nature, these images are versatile in their use. The strong black and white contrasts have a calming effect. This will translate well into the interior of a contemporary office building interior as well as for branding purposes for such industries like mining, insurance and investments or even music artists album art work. The abstract quality that is produced by a natural phenomenon will ensure that each viewer will have an individual experience. Therefore the images are not a collection of rocks, but a symphony of emotions.

The project was born after a hike in February 2021 and was completed in the same month. The research happened while photographing the subject. The objective was to exclude the sandstone's yellow hue and focus only on contrast and texture. The methodology was to study the rocks until each composition was visible in the frame. Data collection happened while documenting the cliffs. The entire series was an experiment. The end results were a collection of abstract compositions. Research shows that beauty can be found anywhere and can be connected to the material world in a philosophical way.

The biggest creative challenge, or in this case decision, was to not use the yellow tone of the rock face, but to only use black and white exposure. Initially the natural colour palette made it tempting to exploit, but at the end the of the day the abstract nature of these natural sculptures inspired the idea to process the images as black and white. The next challenge was to balance the natural light. The images were taken at almost mid day. Therefore the contrasts were very strong.

This series is focused on the abstract rock formations created over billions of years or in this case eons. The aim was to show the beauty in nature. The photographs is a series capturing abstract compositions created by nature. It should transport the viewer away from negative energy and transport them to a calm state of mind.