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Defamiliarization

Ostranenie Slideshow – Macro Shots with Plastic Hand Lens & iPhone

Some of these shots are of things remarkably small: the sexual organs of a flower; mold spores; and tiny baby snails. I am almost amazed at how an iPhone can capture images that are so tiny with relative clarity. These are not comparable to high-end macro photography, but what I love about it is the level of ease and economy. With just a simple plastic hand lens and an iPhone, you can peer into a familiar world that is suddenly unfamiliar.

Defamiliarization or ostranenie (остранение) is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way, in order to enhance perception of the familiar. A central concept in 20th century art and theory, ranging over movements including Dada, postmodernism, epic theatre, and science fiction, it is also used as a tactic by recent movements such as culture jamming. – Wikipedia