To me, an abstract photo portrays an image in such an unusual way that it provokes thought or interpretation from a viewer. Typically, abstract images tend to be aesthetically pleasing and pleasing to the eye but intentionally limit the subject of the picture not to the object portrayed within the photograph but to compositional elements of the abstract image, commonly attributes or qualities of the object or its surroundings.
The Pictorialism Movement was a movement for photography to be considered more of a form of art on par with paintings instead of simply depicting reality. Photographers in this movement tended to focus on an image’s beauty, tonality and composition rather than visual accuracy. Although ideas inspiring this movement have existed since the 1850s, such as from painter William John Newton, this movement was the most active between 1885 and 1915, in which photographs were generally manipulated to increase their artistic impact, many times to produce stories or otherwise deeper meaning within images. This movement has inspired innovation for newer photography techniques and other artistic movements, laying the foundation for aspects of modern photography.
In contrast, the straight photography movement was a movement for producing more detailed and visually realistic images by tending to not manipulate taken pictures and strictly depicting objects as portrayed on the camera. To achieve a pure effect, the image is generally not edited at any stage of the photo-making process, including taking the photo, editing in the darkroom, or through digital editing. This movement was the foundation for many other movements, such as documentary, photojournalism and abstract photography. Ultimately, this was a prevalent movement due to the appearance of amateur cameras and their dominance in advertising, design, and journalism.
Aaron Siskind was influenced by straight photography by including elements of abstraction within the pictures, effectively combining them. In his photographs, a style reminiscent of straight photography is used in which aspects of the image are kept visually realistic yet include elements of abstraction with how the subject is unclear at the initial viewing. In other words, Siskind utilized straight photography’s influence to portray something intentionally in an abstract manner.
Photos taken by Andreas Gursky and Uta Barth are abstract in that their photos include compositional elements that invoke interest or curiosity when viewed, inspiring consideration into the image, and having no clear subject and, in some of their pictures, repetition of such elements. I would consider Gursky to be more of a straight photographer since many of his images are weighed in reality and use techniques commonly seen with straight photography, such as sharper photographs with immaculate details and no obvious modification to the image itself while portraying complex landscapes. I would also consider Barth a straight photographer, depending on the image, since many of her pictures incorporate a sharp focus and lack of subject for an effect of abstraction. However, most of her other photos modify the focus and have an object that could be considered as the subject of the photograph, although it is placed in such a manner that it would take consideration to determine the subject.