Definition:

Abstract Photography can be defined as using a unique perspective of an object which makes the viewer think.  Usually abstract photos are pleasing to the human eye and highlight one distinct element in the image. Abstract photos use a variation of elements and colors to portray an interesting view of an image.

Researching the starting point:

Pictorialism is a style of photography that places more emphasis on the aesthetics of the composition, tone, and subject matter than on accurately portraying reality. The Pictorialist viewpoint emerged in the late 1860s and predominated during the first decade of the twentieth century.

Between 1840 and 1860, there was a movement known as straight photography that was centered on perfecting methods and procedures for producing clear images that were as similar to the actual scene as possible and were shot directly from nature. Since straight photography refers to images that are not altered during the image-taking process or by darkroom or digital processes but accurately capture the scene or subject as the camera sees it, it has gained popularity among photographers.

Siskind was one of the first photographers to blend what was known as “straight” photography—recording the actual world as the lens “sees” it—with abstraction. He flipped the medium of photography on its head by capturing photographs of discovered things that were both true to life and abstract. He was inspired by this movement because his photos combined both real things with abstract things which led him to be inspired by the straight photography movement.

Andreas Gursky and Uta Barth photos are abstract because they both use elements and a unique perspective to make the viewer think and be intersted in the painting. Both images use different variations of colors and elements and both show exactly what they are portraying. I would say they are not straight photographers because in their images they do not only portray one thing but rather many different objects in their photos. They also use a big variation of colors and perspectives which are usually not used during straight photography.