Angelina

The ones that worked well

• The zebra worked well by demonstrating horizontal lines. The alternating pattern of stripes is a clear and direct representation.

• The basketball works well by demonstrating the circle shown in the drawing. It’s a simple, recognizable, and universally understood shape.

•   The checkerboard demonstrated the grids drawn, and it demonstrated this element effectively.

• The side of a pyramid works well by demonstrating the triangle.

• Window on a building well demonstrated the square. It’s a simple, recognizable and universally understood shape.

• A close-up of the sprinkles in the image works by demonstrating little dots in the drawing.

• The pyramid worked well to demonstrate the triangle look provided in the drawing.

The other ones such as the book stacks and the pizza slice all demonstrated a decent visual that fits the drawing, however, it all lacked a clear visual connection to the abstract concept. In the future, the images should improve by include more specific and visually compelling pictures.

-Structure of the building
-Architecture style
– Interesting framing technique

If I were the photographer, I would name this work “Ruined Zone.” This is because this photo brings a sense of disorder, and the visual shows the destruction of the building, which creates an unsettled impression for the audience. Therefore, this name suits the best for this image.

This image included multiple formal elements, including lines, shapes, patterns, and tone. The building and the wooden holders demonstrated the lines and shapes to which they are all attached. The lines are mostly straight, and the shapes are geometric, meaning they are artificial. Furthermore, the arrangement of the shapes and lines created patterns that formed a natural landscape in the architecture. Moreover, based on the elements above, this picture generated an overall darker tone.

 

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/104JTD

The phrase Formal Elements is defined as the foundational components that make up the photographic picture. The elements include line, shape, pattern, texture, tone, and focus. These elements help to organize and structure the image and generate its visual language.

1. Line: lines is one of the fundamental elements in photography. It mainly create movement and structure for the audience. Lines can be straight, curved, or jagged, and it can be find in mostly all the objects appears. For instance, a picture of road or landscapes can easily identify the different types of lines, which grabs attention of the viewer’s eye to make it more attractive.
2. Shape: shapes are mainly generated by the lines. Photography wise, it can be geometric or organic. Shapes provide structure to evoke specific feelings or moods to the audience. Such as the circular shapes can feel soft while sharp shapes can create the feeling of tension.
3. Pattern: patterns are the arrangements of shapes and lines in an image. Different patterns can bring different feelings to the audience based on its composition. Patterns can be found throughout our life, from natural landscapes to architectures. Using patterns effectively can create a sense of order for the photo.
4. Texture: texture is defined as the surface quality of the object. It can be rough, smooth, soft, or hard. By including textures in an image, the photo created can evoke different sensation, which is very important, making the viewer to “feel” the surface through the image.
5. Tone: tones is identified as lightness or darkness of an image, which can effect the mood and the atmosphere of an image. It is often determined by the settings of the camera, such as the exposure or iso. High-key images tend to have light tones and evoke a sense of brightness, while low-key images is more of a darker tones.
6. Focus: focus usually refers to the clarity of the subject in an image. It is an important tool for drawing the viewer’s attention to the emphasized item. Photographers use focus to separate the important elements in the frame, mostly by using shallow depth of field the blur the background or by keeping everything in sharp focus for a detailed image.

However, the photographer will not likely achieve the idea of only including one element in an image. This is because every image will emphasize many different ideas to the audience. For instance, even though there is only a straight line in a picture, the tone will also be created due to this straight line, and multiple lines combined would likely create shapes, such as building structures or natural landscapes.

 

 

“Understanding the 7 Formal Elements of Photography.” Focus, focus.picfair.com/articles/7-formal-elements-photography. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.

The Pictorialism Movement appears popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where they hope to elevate Photography to the status of fine art during that period by imitating the similar qualities of a painting. For instance, photographers would use soft focus and textured surfaces to create photos that look like paintings. At that time, the photographers prioritized artistic interpretation rather than realism. On the other hand, the Straight Photography Movement, popular in the early 20th century, emphasized Photography’s technique and qualities by using sharp focus and precise detail in the images. This movement focused on the camera’s ability to capture accurate photos; its idea aligned with “truth and clarity.”

The idea of straight Photography influenced photographers such as Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind. Weston’s work, such as the detailed close-ups of peppers, emphasized the sharp focus of the item, and Siskind’s images of surfaces like the peeling paint effectively highlighted the reality through its framing technique. The contemporary photographers Andreas Gursky and Uta Barth explore the idea of abstraction in different ways. Andreas Gursky focuses on mostly urban landscapes to create surrealism and surprising composition, while Uta Barth focuses on light, blur, and empty spaces. Their abstract works reflected the principles of Straight Photography using their cameras.

Abstraction can be defined as the image created using photography materials and equipment that doesn’t have an immediate association with the physical world. It is more like an extreme way of capturing images in an unexpected angle, mostly “out of reality”.

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. The definition of abstract is existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence. In my opinion, abstract photography is the way of finding a surprising angle of a normal item by the photographer. The abstract of the image would effectively demonstrate the beauty of the visual and generate a special feeling in the audience. This would make the viewers experience a more emotional reaction to the image, rather than just recognizing the subject in the image.