Abstract Photography: Post 4
Uta Barth, Field #20
The photographer might have been interested in capturing:
- The traffic lights (especially the red lights).
- The abstracted lines from this street scene.
- The contrast between the gray roads and the pale blue sky.
I like the original name of this photograph because it enhances the abstract, removed feeling the image gives off, but if I were the photographer and had to change its title, I would call it “Myopia”…for obvious reasons. In addition to the blurriness of the image, I also think that this name suits it because it evokes a sense of hopelessness, desperation, and discomfort. It makes it seem as it we are looking at this street view through the eyes of a near-sighted person.
Line:
- The most prominent line is the thick black one of the traffic lights. Some thinner, vertical lines reside in the background, providing more detail and organization for the photo. Additionally, there are also curved lines of the pavement and short, horizontal segments of the houses in the far back.
- The complex direction and orientations of the lines make this image more interesting to look at. Since the lines are all blurred, they also strengthen the “pretty” yet chaotic atmosphere of the photograph.
Shape:
- There are very few obvious shapes present in this image. Notable ones might be the red dots of the traffic lights, the rectangular slabs of the houses, and the trapezoid of the building that is closest to the camera.
- These blocks of color make the image more disorienting, and they are part of the abstraction process that lies at the foundation of Barth’s photograph.
Pattern:
- There are no visible patterns, but there is a repetition of the element of traffic lights. We see spots of red in two separate places within this image, which adds a sort of coherence and completeness to the overall scene.
Texture:
- I am not completely sure if this was done purposefully, but there are slight crinkles/creases in this image, almost as if it were a photograph of an already printed image.
- The creases make the image more sophisticated and enhance the generally warm feeling of the photo.
Tone:
- One of the most interesting things about this image is its use of colors and color balance.
- Primarily, one’s first impression of the image’s tone might be “purple”. Indeed, this is because Barth captures such warmth in the colors of the various components in this photo that even the blue sky is tinted maroon. Cleverly, the two colors present that stray most from this “purple” theme—red (lights) and blue (sky)—combine to make purple itself. Thus, the entire image is extremely harmonized and depicts a scene that seems comforting and cozy.
- However, the red traffic lights are noteworthy, for they give a sense of focus to the photograph and add detail to an otherwise “blocky” and very abstract image.
Focus:
- As was mentioned above, the traffic lights are the focus points of the image, not in the sense that the camera was pointed at them, but because they stand out as bright splashes of color.
- Specifically, and very fascinatingly, the clearest shape in the photo is the biggest dot of red light. This is on the right side of the photo, and its presence, in contrast with the indistinguishable features of all other components (the buildings, the streets, the pavement), makes the photograph more balanced in the amount of detail and focus.