Hanover Aquariumt ,

Get excited and make something.

Discussion in 'General Aquascaping and Planted Tank Discussions' started by Garuf, Jun 7, 2012.

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  1. Garuf Moderator

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    I don't know, I've been in the hobby for 6 years maybe a touch longer and most do, I still go back to the scapes that made me love aquascaping and I still love them so maybe.

    I have to agree it's easy to get jaded but I think it's a reflection of taste that decides if it's a gimmick or not. Tacky or tasteless was the other word I'd use for some of these scapes, the comparison I often fall back on is those magic eye waterfalls you see in chinese take aways, you know the ones, it's like a light box of a waterfall and there's a blind that moves that makes it look like a falling waterfall, I find if a scape looks like those things I find it cheap and gimmicky. I find it's the less literal scapes that I still associate strongly with, I often judge the quality of a scape by how many repeat views you get out of it and it still has a resonance or an impact or you see some other thing you didn't before, for me that's the measure of a good scape, great iwagumi's I still find something in them time and again, yet some of the scapes that look like perfect mountains leave me cold, they're like fireworks a loud bang and a flash and they're spent, a great scape is more like a light bulb, they're constantly great but might not always have flash bang effect.

    I think it's also worth discussion is that people don't seem to be able to separate literal and interpretative in their scapes which is why I think there's been such a rash of treescapes and mountainscapes that contrive to look just like a photograph, it's a much more difficult act to take the spirit that a place is imbued with and then represent it in an aquascape in a non-literal manner and I think this is perhaps what a lot of people struggle to differentiate and why we end up with so many literal scapes, I also sort of feel that scapers are looking too much at the big picture for inspiration, we're dealing with a microcosm and as such I think smaller details and scenes are probably more inspiration or useful to interpret. I think this is also why they best scapes have a legacy because they work interpretatively, it could be a mountain, it could be a windblown outcrop it could be a pebble on a rivershore, the literal is removed and it's embued with a spirit and charm that is easy to lose when you can only view a scape as a tree.

    Perhaps I should invite people to post their 3 favourite ever scapes, it'd be interesting to see what they choose and why.

    Garuf, Jun 26, 2012
    #61
    ghostsword likes this.

  2. octavusprime New Member

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    I thought the Avatar tank was refreshing and aesthetically appealing. Don't let your hate of a movie cause distaste for the tank. Plant health was amazing, waterfalls may seem novel but create movement without fish and the floating islands give depth that is impossible to achieve in traditional settings. I'm a novice and may see things different 10 years from now but for me it was pushing the envelop of what can be achieved.

    Honestly I'm bored of seeing the bagillion iwagumi scapes that all somehow look the same, but I digress.
    octavusprime, Jun 26, 2012
    #62

  3. Garuf Moderator

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    Have you ever seen Reign of Fire? I wanted it to be basically that but with more explosions for 2 hours then maybe half an hour either end of isn't nature rad, if I wanted to watch pokehonutus I'd have watched the disney version and got it out the way with in half the time.

    Don't get me wrong, technically it's very good, well presented and interesting but it's just not my taste, something which there's no accounting for.

    I also think you're not alone in being sick of iwagumis, I'm not sure if this is because the over all quality of them is decreasing or because people have allowed themselves to become self limiting by slavishly following prior examples.
    Garuf, Jun 27, 2012
    #63

  4. ShadowMac ASW Columnist

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    I have yet to try a proper Iwagumi, so I'm not sick yet....but they do not hold me like some other scapes. I love the ones with complexities on small scales.

    Art of any type, for me, whether it is a movie, a painting, or a story it must make me see, feel, or think something I haven't before. I like it to challenge my preconceptions or like you mentioned Garuf, it can be something that each time you return to it you find something new. Those are the ones that have the greatest longevity. I do also appreciate something of less substance from time to time that makes me gawk at it with my mouth open. Some "shock and awe" isn't all bad and has its place. I think this type of thing can be applied to aquascapes...it depends upon what you are looking for. New people tend to look and say "wow! do you see that red plant!" while veterans tend to look at the subtleties as their awe factor, which tend to require a more trained eye or even a "bored eye" that needs something else to give the "wow" feeling.
    ShadowMac, Jun 27, 2012
    #64

  5. Garuf Moderator

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    I move house today, so for around a week possibly more I will be AWOL. Please accept my apologies and I will be back with you as soon as I can to talk rubbish and post picture of tanks.

    Have fun, post away, share and share a like!
    Garuf, Jun 29, 2012
    #65

  6. octavusprime New Member

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    octavusprime, Jun 29, 2012
    #66
    ghostsword likes this.

  7. WabiKasuH20Fall Aspiring Aquascaper

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    I have been attracted to the Karsk landscapes for inspiration lately they have some great rock and flora combinations and the shear vertical slopes and the upward rocks and mountains makes for dramatic settings great for inspiration adaptable for the planted aquarium.
    All images from goolge images: keyword "Karsk Topography"



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    Iceland:
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    From the mud grows a Lotus~
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.
    WabiKasuH20Fall, Jun 29, 2012
    #67
    Eboeagles and arelav like this.

  8. Eboeagles Aspiring Aquascaper

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    wow that Octapus guys tanks are great such scale & amazing plant choices that just seem to work.

    An amazingly talented guy that I'm going to stalk for a few weeks. Thanks for sharing.

    I definitely think a thread where everyone posts their 3 favourite scrapes would be good with a little description why. Just like music or any art it will be hard to choose but it will perhaps give insight into what each of us is trying to achieve no?
    Eboeagles, Jun 29, 2012
    #68
    arelav likes this.

  9. Eboeagles Aspiring Aquascaper

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    As per the previous post - 3 personal favourites of mine - not all time favourites, and by no means the most amazing scapes I've seen, but none the less they have inspired me over the last year or so since I've been in the hobby (Im still pretty new to this malarky so I've skipped the progression from Dutch scapes etc) and I'm also discounting all the amazing ones I've seen since being a member here.

    ASW accept my apologies as I'm sorry to say the links are all from UKAPS but this is where I was first spending most of my aquatic on line life. I have about 4 more I could add in as well but these are the most aesthetically pleasing to my eyes and ones I keep going back to when I'm seeking inspiration.

    I'm posting the final photos but please click the links to see what I'm talking about. I think its being able to see the progression that endears them to me so much. A lot of the amazing scopes you see online or in books are the finished article. Seeing peoples journals gives us all hope that one day we may be able to achieve something pretty amazing.

    In no particular order:

    1) Stu Worral 'Unknown Valley'

    Sorry I cant work out how to actually grab the photo on this one..

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/sworrall/5986063180/in/photostream/

    http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13766&hilit=unknown

    I can't put my finger on why I like this one so much. To me actually it feels a bit of a mess, but there are little things that make me smile - the trailing HC off the rocks and the view up the valley. I'm always impressed by Stu's scapes (talking like I know him ha ha) and I think he may be one of my favourite scapers...

    2) Nelsons IAPLC entry 2011
    [IMG]

    http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=16993

    Very simple planting on this one but the use of rock to add scale blows me away every time I see it - if you check the other photos on the link the depth he managed to achieve in such a little tank is simply amazing - it must have taken so much time and fiddling. If only I was that patient!

    3) Jordan Ngoh Ember cove
    [IMG]

    http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=16724

    As with a lot of scapes I like, and this one is a perfect example. I much prefer them before the planting has fully grown in - to me and I know this is controversial, the skill and art is in the hardscape first then the plant choice and finally the growing! Totally against what most people think. But I'm all about style of content! The hardscape is totally immense on this and I love the cove at the front. I've seen a few of this guys scopes and they all look pretty special.


    I know a lot of the skill is in the photography and I'm also aware just like people, some of the most amazing scapes on photo probably don't impress so much in the flesh but there you go.

    I've shown you mine - now show me yours...
    Eboeagles, Jun 30, 2012
    #69

  10. youjettisonme Aspiring Aquascaper

    Member Since:
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    Sometimes it's hard for me to find a simple scape that I truly adore. This fits the bill for me. It happens to be an Amano scape.

    [IMG]
    youjettisonme, Jul 12, 2012
    #70
    viktorlantos and Eboeagles like this.

  11. Garuf Moderator

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    Great post. Please bare with me, I'm still without internet grabbing goes on my brothers laptop where I can. I will resume normal service as soon as is humanly possible for me to do so.

    In the mean time I invite you all to keep up the good work and to post your top 3 favorite scapes as shown by Eboeagles.
    Garuf, Jul 13, 2012
    #71
    Eboeagles likes this.

  12. Garuf Moderator

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    Garuf, Jul 13, 2012
    #72

  13. Eboeagles Aspiring Aquascaper

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    I must get myself some bigger tanks so I can partake in the more exciting fish species available. Would love some Rainbows.

    Nice post!
    Eboeagles, Jul 14, 2012
    #73

  14. Garuf Moderator

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    [IMG]
    Source: unknown.
    Garuf, Jul 16, 2012
    #74
    farooqmallik, ghostsword and ShadowMac like this.

  15. Garuf Moderator

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    Garuf, Jul 16, 2012
    #75

  16. Garuf Moderator

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    [IMG]
    Sometimes it's nice for something to not quite work but still show you the way that would.
    Source: www.aquascapia.com
    Garuf, Jul 16, 2012
    #76

  17. ghostsword Aspiring Aquascaper

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    WOW!!!
    ghostsword, Jul 16, 2012
    #77

  18. Garuf Moderator

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    My personal top 3 scapes I always go back to.
    [IMG]
    Faao's best tank in my opinion.

    Norbert Sabats wonderful moss iwagumi
    [IMG]
    Source:www.aquadesign.pl

    And my number three was probably the hardest, there's a lot I still think are the pinnacle but this has just pipped it for me.
    Something about this and the way the hardscape has melted away to little more than a frame work does it every time.
    [IMG]
    Source:http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquarium_WithoutBoundaries.aspx

    There are more but I think these are the ones that shaped what appeal to me more than anything.
    Garuf, Jul 17, 2012
    #78

  19. Eboeagles Aspiring Aquascaper

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    Ooo I love that Norbet Sabat tank, i've not seen that before. Straight to google to see more for me!
    Eboeagles, Jul 17, 2012
    #79

  20. Garuf Moderator

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    Or you could click source. ;)
    Garuf, Jul 17, 2012
    #80
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