Abstraction mind map

Albert Renger-Patzsch

• The shadow of the glass cups
• The pattern or stripes of different glass cups
• The color contrast between black and white

Shadow of glass cup: Because it can express the main idea of the whole photograph

• Line: It directs the viewer’s eye into and along a photo to the focal point and may also impact the mood of the photo.
• Shape: It can be use to draw emphasis to part of the frame and create contrast between the subject and its environment.
• Pattern: It can grab more attention through its intriguing, repetitive nature.
• Texture: It is used to tell a deeper story about the setting that the subject is in.
• Tone: It can create a sense of depth or distance in the photo.
• Focus: It draws the eye of a viewer to the most important part of the photograph or the area that you want to highlight.

Citations

Formal Elements: The Formal Elements are the parts used to make a photograph. The art elements are line, shape, form, tone, texture, pattern, color and composition. They are often used together, and how they are organized in a piece of art determines what the finished piece will look like.

• Line: Lines can be used to frame and unify, or to divide and separate elements within an image. Leading lines can direct the viewer’s eye through a scene to a point of interest – and they can do so with a sense of urgency with direct, straight lines, or at a relaxed pace with fluid, curved lines.
• Shape: Shape elements are often found in photography in the form of patterns. They can also be use to draw emphasis to part of the frame. Shapes can create contrast between the subject and their environment. These are just some of the uses.
• Pattern: Patterns are repeated shapes, colors, tones, or objects. A pattern is predictable in its repetition. It is this repetition and predictability that gives patterns visual strength. Simple patterns have a repeating sequence of only a couple of attributes.
• Texture: If you imagine reaching out, closing your eyes, and touching a photo, texture is how it would feel in three dimensions. Sand might feel smooth and granular. Water could be smooth and glassy, or it could be rough and sharp.
• Tone: It is the element we use to create the mood or atmosphere of an artwork. The Visual Element of Tone defines the lightness or darkness of a color. The tonal values of an artwork can be adjusted to alter its expressive character. Tone refers to the levels of brightness in the photograph, from solid black to pure white.
• Focus: Focus in photography refers to the area of the image that appears sharpest. It is crucial for drawing attention to a specific object, person, or scene, and is a fundamental aspect of photography alongside ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.

Examples:

Line

Shape

Pattern

Texture

Tone

Focus

An image in photography can show more than one element at a time. In fact, many photographs intentionally capture multiple elements to tell a story, convey a theme, or create visual interest. These elements could include different subjects, objects, or even contrasting environments.

The photo is wrong in terms of perspective, balance, leading lines and symmetry. The perspective of the photo should be higher, with less space for the floor. The photo is not equally balanced, it should include more other subject such as the sofa to fill the space of the floor.

The photo is wrong in terms of composition, rule of thirds, balance, leading lines and symmetry. The photo is crooked, also without a main topic.  It should be taken mainly of the chairs and tables of the dining hall.

The photo is wrong in terms of view point, rule of thirds and leading lines. The person is taken only half of her body, which looks quite weird. The background is to light which affects the whole photo.

The photo is wrong in terms of depth of field and framing. The trash bins are not clear; two of them are only half. There should be other objects included in the photo that supports the trash bins.

The photo is wrong in terms of rule of thirds, view point or perspective and composition. The bookshelf’s middle part is being covered in this photo, so it looks weird.

The photo is wrong in terms of rule of thirds, depth of field, view point and framing. The people inside the photo are taken opposite, the main topic is also unclear. The photo is unclear with a lot of left spaces, which is defined wrong. The perspective of the photo is also wrong.

The photo is wrong in terms of rule of thirds, depth of field, balance, leading lines, framing and symmetry. It doesn’t have a main object or topic. There should be some objects to fill in the empty space at the bottom.

The photo is wrong in terms of depth of field, balance and framing. The white space at the bottom is unbalanced with the wall. The photo should include other objects that support the main object.

The photo is wrong in terms of balance, view point, combination and symmetry. There are only legs hanging in the air of the person, which makes it weird. Also, the blank spaces of the floor should be balanced with the wall in the distance.

1. Pictorialism, an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality. Pictorialism was a movement that thrived between 1885 and 1915, and began in response to claims that a photograph was nothing more than a simple record of reality.
2. The central tenets of Straight Photography revolved around capturing subjects in their natural environments. Pictorialism and Straight Photography were two opposing movements in early 20th-century American photography. Pictorialism aimed to make photos look like paintings, using soft focus and manipulation. Straight Photography, in contrast, embraced sharp focus and unaltered images. The primary purpose of the Straight Photography movement was to celebrate the truth and beauty found in everyday life and nature.
3. In Mexico, Edward Weston started to sharpen the straight photography way of taking pictures that he had begun to develop before his trip to New York. He took pictures of people he met and of objects and buildings. His pictures appeared to represent the true nature of his subjects. Aaron Siskind turned the medium of photography on its head, taking pictures of found objects that were simultaneously true-to-life and abstract; he was one of the first photographers to combine what was known as “straight” photography (recording the real world as the lens “sees” it) with abstraction.
4. Both Gursky and Barth could be seen as rejecting the strict definitions of either pictorialist or straight photography. Gursky’s work is more about visual manipulation on a grand scale, and Barth’s work is focused on perception and abstraction in subtle ways. Both are firmly part of the contemporary art scene, where boundaries between genres and styles are increasingly fluid.

Abstract photography consists of images created using photography materials and equipment that don’t have an immediate association with the physical world.

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.

What do you think is meant by “Abstract photography can be defined as capturing images in which the subject isn’t the most interesting element”?

Abstract composition means focusing on basic elements instead of realistic representations of the scenery in front of you.

It means that there are many interesting elements besides the subject in abstract photography.

Referencing the picture above entitled “Wrong!” Can a ‘bad’ picture ever be ‘great’? – How important is context in photography?

Context can ease the photographer’s load of wanting to get a specific message across, and elevate the viewer’s willingness to see the picture’s beauty as objective fact. This is especially important if the images were taken with the intention of forming a narrative.

A bad picture can turn into a great picture by fixing the broken rules of photography.