I believe street photography is capturing easily lost moments in real contexts, and in turn making those moments precious by the rarity of said moments. Street photography can show raw, natural emotion without any setup or planning, only through patience and solid vision.

Working Title: The Other Side

Message: I want my audience to discover 798’s architecture and atmosphere from a viewpoint that is not their own. Rather than seeing everything through their eyes, I want them to see the beauty of reflection and unique angles.

Audience Response: I want my audience to feel a sense of contemplation and hesitation when viewing my finished product, taking a second to realize the pictures they are looking at rather than immediately understanding them. I wish that just like me, my audience will find different ways to view the world around them, finding reflections and normally impossible alterations from those reflections.

Inspiration: I have always liked to find reflective surfaces and see the interesting things I can accomplish with them, like sticking out half my body to make it look like I am floating, or mirroring hand gestures to make impossible patterns. I really enjoyed Emma F. Wright’s work, and her common use of reflections, which I wish to try to emulate through my photos at 798.

Closing Sentences: Through extra attention to reflective surfaces, I will attempt to capture 798’s industrial yet modern atmosphere through the mirrors of glass, puddles, or windows, showing how the world does not simply have to be viewed in a straightforward manner. I hope my audience can learn to not only use their eyes uniquely, but also their minds, and learn to find different viewpoints to problems, and angles toward life.

1.

I think that this image does not work quite well for the first element, which I believe may be using lines/tone, yet there are aspects that I also think do work. The metal supports in the window create the divide between the top half and the bottom half, but the subject’s wobbling arms make a blurry, inconsistent line as well. This was the only picture we took that I think worked for this element, it definitely could have been much better.

2.

I really like this photo and the contrast of the white wall with the red corner, and the square window perfectly captures the reflection of a tree. I think this photo works very well because there is not only a blend of shapes (triangle in the top right, square window), there is a mixture of colors. Green, grey, red, and even a little blue from the sky’s reflection in the window. It feels like I am peering into a small dimension inside the wall, and I like the structure very much.

3.

I interpreted the difference between this element and the 12th element to be that this one is more like pattern, as the demo picture has many repeating small lines, while the 12th one is more focused on texture, with more compact, random lines. I chose this picture, and I like it a lot, because of the many chaotic yet similar white protrusions, creating many shadows and highlights, emphasizing the depth of the wall. It may not work as well because it isn’t orderely enough to be considered a pattern, but I can see an argument for the similarities between each protrusion.

4.

We did not take any photos specifically for this element using lines, this was the closest shot we had that worked, the bleachers create depth between the gaps and the seats, this photo is not the strongest but it matches the original image.

5.

This image is of two reflective bars, I think it works well because of the dark curtain contrasting with the reflective silver. I flipped this photo 90 degrees to get the portrait framing, and I like the texture that the curtain provides in contrast to the metal bars’ smooth, reflectiveness. I did not have the bars perfectly centered because I tried and thought it looked much worse, without any depth.

6.

I really like this image because it looks a lot like the Japanese flag, it is of a red sticker in the upper dance studio, and I like how much the red pops with the background. This element is shapes, mainly just the circle, but the way the white rectangle envelops the red adds a lot of contrast. There is some slight cracks and bumps in the wall, which add some texture, while the sticker itself is very flat and perfect.

7.

This image is not exactly like the reference photo, as the reference’s lines are all straight, while the one in the photo are curved. However, I think my photo still captures the importance of the intersections in the reference photo, and mine has considerably more intersections than the original. I think this photo does work because of the parallel black curved lines, and how the two blue lines cut through them. I think the framing and structure could be a bit better, and the glare on the floor is unappreciated, but I like the colors and lines.

8.

I do not like this photo much, but it was one of the only ones with a pattern that fit the reference. The groups of holes are the ones that are meant for the rock climbing holds, but some of them are covered by the holds themselves. The composition feels too messy and not clean like the reference is. If I could have found a spot or time where no holds were attatched to the wall, I could have gotten a much more accurate shot.

9.

I really like this photo, because it not only has the tile pattern seen in the reference, it has abstraction because of the focus not being on the wall, and how the different colors blend into one another. This photo may not work as well, though, because of how unclear the pattern is, and the tiles in my photo are more rectangular than square. Nonetheless, I think this photo is a great example of abstraction and still a decent fit for the reference.

10.

I also really like this picture, it is the shadow of the revolving door leading to the darkroom in the photography area, and it created this really interesting shadow, which I though had an amazing perspective, making it feel like the light part stretches on for much longer than it actually does. It matches the use of lines in the original to create an angled, retreating perspective, and I think it is a great use of shadow to create shapes.

11.

This image was taken of a stairwell, and the reference it is copying focuses on the use of lines, once again, to create perspective and depth. I really like how symmetrical the photo is, and the solid colors creating a canvas for the ceiling light to cast distorted and altering highlights/shadows. This image really shows the perspective of moving downwards, and shows the height of the stairs through the collection of the lines toward the bottom of the stairwell.

12.

Last but not least, this photo is of an almost broken window, and I think the horizontal cracks matches the reference photo, although not perfectly, it is an example of texture, not pattern, as the shapes do not repeat at all. I like how some broken points of the glass make a solid light blue color, while others remain see-through, providing a variety of textures throughout the image.

I believe that the photographer wanted to use light to show depth, from the doorway where the picture is taken to the long, dark hall where the farthest subject is standing, and even the variously shaped windows on the building. I also think that the photographer wanted to show a contrast in emotion between the two subjects, with one sitting in thought or discomposure, and the other standing casually, relaxed in the hallway, creating a dynamic between the subjects. Lastly, I think that the photographer may have wanted to emphasize the multitude of parallel lines, the ones made by shadows, namely the two diagonal ones formed by the box outside the window and presumably a clothesline, as well as the rectangles of the doorway and windows.

If I were the photographer of this photo, I would name it something along the lines of “Seperation,” as this not only captures the distance and lonely feel of the two subjects, it also applies to other parts of the image, such as the cutoff between light and dark, with shadows crawling in from the left and bottom, opposing the light.

Siskind uses lines to frame his subjects and emphasize light and dark. He uses shapes, mostly quadrilaterals, as a basis for the photo’s structure, and making the round bucket to the right of the door stand out further. There is a pattern in the floor tiles, originally square but seen trapezoidal from the angle, showing further depth. The clearest texture is the brick wall, giving an old and worn feeling. The tone of the picture is completely black and white, with a dark hallway in the building, further emphasizing the depth. Finally, the focus of the image is on the further subject, leaving the close subject slightly blurry.

Pictorialism Movement

The Pictorialism movement dominated photography from the 1880s to early 1920s, representing photography’s first major artistic assertion. Pictorialists rejected the medium’s purely documentary function, instead emphasizing beauty, tonality, and composition over reality. These photographers manipulated their images through elaborate darkroom techniques, soft focus, and painterly effects to achieve artistic legitimacy alongside traditional fine arts.

Straight Photography Movement

In direct opposition, the Straight Photography movement emerged in the 1920s, championing unmanipulated images with sharp focus and precise detail. Edward Weston defined this approach in 1921, advocating for correct lighting and exposure from the start, eliminating the need for extensive darkroom manipulation. This movement gained popularity because it embraced photography’s unique characteristics rather than imitating painting, offering a modernist aesthetic that celebrated the medium’s inherent qualities.

Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind’s Straight Photography Influence

Edward Weston became straight photography’s leading advocate, creating iconic images of peppers, shells, and landscapes that revealed extraordinary beauty in ordinary subjects through precise composition and sharp detail. His work demonstrated photography’s capacity for artistic expression without manipulation.

Aaron Siskind, initially a documentary photographer, evolved toward abstraction while maintaining straight photography principles. His photographs of weathered walls, peeling paint, and urban decay transformed mundane surfaces into compelling abstract compositions, influencing both photographers and painters like Willem de Kooning.

Contemporary Abstract Photography: Gursky and Barth

Andreas Gursky creates abstract effects through scale and digital manipulation, transforming landscapes and architectural spaces into pattern-like compositions. His monumental prints, like “Rhein II,” achieve abstraction through their overwhelming scale and subtle digital alterations that emphasize geometric relationships over natural representation.

Uta Barth achieves abstraction through deliberate unfocus and emphasis on peripheral vision, making visual perception itself the subject. Her blurred, atmospheric images challenge traditional photographic concerns with sharp detail and clear subject matter.

Classification Challenge

Neither Gursky nor Barth fits neatly into pictorialist or straight photography categories. While Gursky’s digital manipulation might suggest pictorialist influence, his work stems from conceptual rather than aesthetic concerns. Barth’s unfocused approach opposes straight photography’s sharp detail, yet her unmanipulated capturing process aligns with straight photography principles. Both represent a contemporary synthesis that transcends these historical categories, using photography’s unique capabilities to explore perception, scale, and abstraction in ways their predecessors couldn’t imagine.

Abstract photography is using elements in a scene in a way that defies conventional standards, or using after-effects to alter the photo so that they look far from the original. This may give the viewer a sense of confusion, having to process what is in the image rather than being able to immediately tell. Doing this gives the picture as a whole more significance, rather than just the subject.

Abstract photography can be defined as capturing images in which the subject isn’t the most interesting element. Albert Renger-Patzsch and Aaron Siskind photographed the ordinary to reveal their beauty. Uta Barth reversed the typical use of the camera, shooting out of focus and Andreas Gursky photographs the repetition of elements. During this unit, you will investigate appropriate examples of abstract photography and respond in your own way.

I believe that abstract photography means using every element in a photo to create a unique and highly detailed composition, taking an image and making every part of it stand out. By making every element in a photo stand out, the subject is no longer the focus, in some instances, they may even be the background or a supporting element.