I think it is very hard for an image to have just one element at a time because the elements are all interconnected. A simple line can be viewed both as a “line” and as a “shape”; a group of lines can be observed as a pattern. For example, the photo below features many repeated lines/rectangular shapes. The center also has the lightest value, bringing the focus of the eyes to the center of the photograph.

Andreas Gursky, “Times Square, New York”,  1997

 

Works cited:

“Andreas Gursky. Times Square, New York. 1997 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/55649.