The message of my project will be to explore how a different city holds its own cultural identity and atmosphere. I want my audience to think about how cities, though different, can reflect both global connections and local uniqueness. By photographing unfamiliar streets, buildings, and people’s daily lives, I hope to show how culture is expressed in everyday spaces.

I want my audience to feel curiosity and appreciation — curiosity for what is new and different, and appreciation for the cultural richness that exists outside their own familiar environment. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that explore urban life, architecture, and human interactions in unfamiliar places. I want to find images that show both the contrasts and the similarities between cities.

In my opinion, photography is a way to capture the spirit of a place. Through this work, I hope to make my audience more open to experiencing and respecting cultures and environments that are different from their own.

This photo symbolically represents the elements of fire and water through a strong contrast between red and blue. The clear division of color creates a visual tension that effectively conveys the balance between these opposing natural forces.

The slightly off-center circle creates a sense of imbalance and tension.
This asymmetry draws the viewer’s eye and adds visual interest while still maintaining a connection to the elemental contrast.

This image represents the element of air, with the scattered patterns resembling movement.
The photo worked well because it captured the same sense of motion and chaos as the drawing

This shows the exact difference between the space and the shelf. But the photo is a slight tilted

I took the photo of the two metal sticks which is very similar to the photo suggested.

I took the same object but this time I put the object in the exact middle to look similar with the suggested picture. But maybe I think it could have been more perfect if I took a picture of a new object.

I took a photo of the tile but I took it a little tilted to the floor to make it lookalike to the picture. However the tiles are little blurry. If I took it more clear it would be much better.

I took a photo of the lights installed on the celling which is very similar to the photo suggested.

The many lines and monotone of the photo is the best part of this photo and it does very lookalike the photo given to us.

This photo I took shows the focus on the wooden block which splits the space exactly to three which is resembling to the provided image.

The shown picture at dx  looks similar to mine. Focusing at the composition, the 3 parts are well divided.

I took a photo of blurred, continuous lines by intentionally defocusing the lens. I think the idea was very good to make my photo look similar to the given photo.

Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent, 1999

What might the photographer have been interested in capturing?

1. Consumer culture and excess – Gursky may have wanted to explore how overwhelming and repetitive modern retail spaces can be, particularly through the lens of mass consumerism.

2. Symmetry and artificial beauty – The perfectly arranged rows and bright product packaging create a kind of visual harmony that almost looks too neat to be real.

3. Repetition and abstraction – The sheer quantity of repeated objects and colors turns a normal store scene into something almost abstract, where individual items disappear and patterns take over.

If I were the photographer, what title would I give it? Why?

I would title it “Organized Chaos” because while the scene is hyper-structured and controlled, it also reflects the chaotic energy of mass consumption. The clash of colors and brands feels overwhelming, yet strangely beautiful in its order.

In 99 Cent, Andreas Gursky uses horizontal and vertical lines created by the shelves and ceiling lights to guide the viewer’s eye across the image, emphasizing a strong sense of structure and order. The repeated rectangular shapes of the products, signs, and shelves contribute to a rhythmic visual pattern that dominates the composition. This repetition transforms the scene into almost an abstract pattern, where individual items blend into a larger, hypnotic design. The texture appears flat and glossy, reflecting the plastic packaging of mass-produced goods, which reinforces the synthetic and commercial atmosphere of the image. Bright, even lighting creates a vivid tone, minimizing shadows and flattening the space to highlight color and repetition rather than depth or mood. Finally, Gursky’s use of deep focus keeps every detail sharp, allowing viewers to explore the overwhelming density of products, which adds to the overall impact of consumer excess captured in the photograph

In photography, the phrase “Formal Elements” refers to the visual components that make up the structure of an image. These elements help photographers organize and compose their shots in a way that communicates ideas, emotions, or aesthetics. Just like the elements of art, formal elements in photography guide the viewer’s eye and define how we experience a photograph.

1. Line

Lines can lead the viewer’s eye through an image, create depth, or divide space. Lines can be straight, curved, diagonal, or implied. They help structure a photo and can add energy or calm, depending on how they are used.

Example: A photograph of a road disappearing into the horizon shows how leading lines pull the viewer into the image.
📸 Example: Ansel Adams, “Autumn Tree Against Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite”

2. Shape

Shapes are formed when lines meet. In photography, they help define the subject and create visual interest. Shapes can be geometric (like squares and circles) or organic (like natural curves of a leaf or person).

Example: Silhouette photography often uses strong shape to show outlines of people or objects.
📸 Example: Fan Ho, “Approaching Shadow”

3. Pattern

Patterns are repeated shapes, lines, or colors that create rhythm in an image. Photographers often use pattern to create visual impact, especially when it’s interrupted by something unexpected.

Example: A tiled wall with one tile missing creates a strong pattern with a focal point.
📸 Example: Andreas Gursky, “99 Cent” (1999)

4. Texture

Texture refers to the surface quality of a subject — how it would feel if touched. In photography, texture is visual, created through light and shadow that reveals surface details.

Example: Close-ups of rust, bark, or fabric show rough or smooth texture.
📸 Example: Edward Weston, “Cabbage Leaf” (1931)

5. Tone

Tone is the range of light and dark in an image. It affects mood and depth. High contrast (strong blacks and whites) can feel dramatic, while low contrast (soft grays) can feel calm.

Example: Black and white portraits often use tone to emphasize emotion and depth.
📸 Example:

6. Focus

Focus determines what is sharp and what is blurry in an image. It directs the viewer’s attention. Shallow depth of field isolates a subject, while deep focus keeps everything in detail.

Example: A portrait with the background blurred uses focus to highlight the person.
📸 Example: Steve McCurry, “Afghan Girl” (1984)

Can an Image Show Just One Element at a Time?

While an image can emphasize one formal element more strongly than others, it is rare for a photo to include only one element. Most photographs naturally include several elements at once — for example, a textured wall may also include patterns and tone. However, photographers can use composition, lighting, and focus to make one element stand out as the most dominant. The best images often balance multiple elements, but with one as the visual “anchor” that captures attention.

In the early 20th century, the Pictorialism Movement aimed to position photography as a fine art by imitating the soft, expressive qualities of painting. Pictorialist photographers often used blurring, soft focus, and careful manipulation during printing to create romantic or symbolic images. The goal was not just to capture reality, but to elevate photography to the level of emotional and artistic expression.

The Straight Photography Movement, which followed shortly after, took a very different approach. It emphasized clarity, sharp focus, and truthful representation of the subject. Straight photographers embraced the technical precision of the camera to reveal form, texture, and light without manipulation. They believed that photography had its own visual power that didn’t need to borrow from painting or other art forms.

The two movements differ significantly: where pictorialism focused on mood and atmosphere through manipulation, straight photography celebrated detail and objectivity. Many photographers found straight photography appealing because it allowed them to explore the beauty of ordinary objects and scenes through structure, line, and natural light — creating images that were powerful in their simplicity and truth.

Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind were both strongly influenced by the principles of straight photography. Weston’s Pepper No. 30 (1930) is a perfect example. Using a large-format camera and natural light, Weston captured a simple bell pepper with such precision and care that it becomes almost sculptural. The curves, shadows, and texture transform the object into something abstract and powerful. This approach reflects straight photography’s emphasis on form and detail without any manipulation — allowing the subject to speak for itself.
(Source: The Art Story – Edward Weston)

Aaron Siskind, while also influenced by straight photography, took it in a slightly different direction. He focused on textures, surfaces, and patterns — such as peeling paint or decaying walls — often removing context so completely that the subject becomes nearly unrecognizable. This created abstraction through realism: what you’re seeing is real, but without context, it becomes visual language made of shape and contrast.

Contemporary photographers like Uta Barth and Andreas Gursky continue to explore abstraction, though in more conceptual ways. Barth’s Field #9 (1996), part of the MoMA Collection, removes any clear subject, using blur and soft light to make the viewer focus on perception itself. Her work does not fit easily into the category of either pictorialist or straight photographer. While she uses softness like a pictorialist might, her conceptual focus on how we see is uniquely contemporary.

Andreas Gursky, on the other hand, creates large-scale, hyper-detailed photographs that capture overwhelming patterns in modern life — like supermarket aisles or office buildings. His images are clear and precise, but their scale, composition, and sometimes digital manipulation push them into abstraction. While Gursky shares straight photography’s attention to detail, his conceptual manipulation distances him from its traditional values.

Another artist worth noting is Albert Renger-Patzsch, whose photograph Aloe (c. 1920s), held in the Tate Collection, captures a plant in sharp focus, emphasizing its structure and surface. His work exemplifies straight photography’s focus on natural beauty, geometry, and unfiltered observation.

Overall, these artists — from Weston and Siskind to Barth and Gursky — show that abstraction in photography can be achieved in different ways: through clarity, isolation, blur, or scale. Whether rooted in realism or conceptual experimentation, abstract photography challenges us to see beyond the literal and engage with form, pattern, and perception itself.

Photo References:

• Edward Weston, Pepper No. 30, 1930

• Albert Renger-Patzsch, Aloe, c. 1920s

• Uta Barth, Field #9, 1996

To me, abstract photography is about looking beyond what something is and focusing on how it feels or looks. It doesn’t try to show the full picture or explain everything clearly — instead, it captures small details, unusual angles, or patterns that make us pause and think. It turns everyday objects into something unfamiliar and creative. Abstract photography doesn’t give answers right away, but invites us to look closer and see the beauty in unexpected places

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.

Before starting this unit, I thought photography was mainly about capturing clear subjects like people or places. But I learned that abstract photography focuses more on shapes, colors, and textures — not just the subject itself. The quote “the subject isn’t the most interesting element” means that even ordinary things can become visually striking depending on how you shoot them. I’m excited to explore this new perspective through the lens.