Elements in the photos:

  • Black and white
  • Lines
  • Shadows creating contrast
  • Examples of architectures
  • People walking- by

I picked Ray Metzker as my inspiration photographer because he took photos that contained elements I want to capture. I like how he uses lines and shadows in his abstract photos, and how the filters are all black and white, which helps the audience to focus on the line compositions instead of distracted by the colors. I also like how his composition are clean and balanced which I can learn from. Moreover, his photos gives me a feeling of calm and simplicity, and the way he captured people made the mood of the photo peaceful. It relates to my message and intention by showing similar elements and compositions.

Famous quote from Ray Metzker: “I never wanted to make portraits – to photograph celebrities, beautiful people, beautiful landscapes, beautiful buildings, or people in distressing situations…. I have always been interested in everyman – average, ordinary people in everyday situations.” This quote helps me understand Ray Metzker’s work because it explains why he always take photos of daily life and find abstraction from ordinary objects. Moreover, this quote suits my vision because I want to find abstract from our daily life, and I agree that beauty isn’t just “beautiful” things.

This is one of my favorite photos from Ray Metzker because I think the composition is balanced, and it evokes a feeling of ease. Something special in this photo is how he used the leading line and the composition grid. The bright- patterned light made big contrast with the shadows, and it lead the viewer’s eyes from the bottom to the end(top) of the composition. The simple composition created a timeless atmosphere and the sense of space. I think one of the formal elements used in this photo is lines. The repetition of lines made the viewers feel interest and engage, it leads/ carry people’s eyes to look from one side to another.

Ray Metzker’s photographs are abstract because it makes people think and allows the viewers to have different interpretations. I like his style of experiencing different light and shadows and how he find abstract from daily life. I also like how he uses black and white in all his photos, but instead of thinking it’s boring monochrome, I find his work interesting using the color scheme; it made the image more clean and balanced. Ray Metzker’s photos inspired me by showing different ways to capture light, and how I can experiment different compositions. I also like how he plays around the exposure, using the same photo but changing it to different brightness can give the viewers different feelings.