Each photo is of The Flatiron in New York which was completed in 1902. It was known to be the highest skyscraper in the city at the time, new and different with its triangular shape the only skyscraper at the time. The photographers all have taken the buildings photo representing it in different ways, below i will begin to analyse each and compare them.
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| Edward Steichen, The Flatiron, New York', 1905 |
This photo taken by Edward Steichen seems to have captured The Flatiron to be very dark and mysterious. It looks to be in the evening as the faint glow of the lights seem too capture the attention.. There is a dark figure also in the photo, so dark the persons identity is hidden/unknown which adds to the mysterious look of the photo. The trees are an important aspect as it frames Flatiron behind, the branches partially covering the building.
The camera position is fairly low considering the height of the building, the top corner of the building is cut off slightly, as if it is not the importance of the photo. It having the sky is an off white colour which helps the building stand out from the dark scenery. Edward Steichen looks as if he was trying to portray the Flatiron building to be a dark photo, capturing its shadows and life as it was portrayed to be.
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| Alfred Stieglitz, The Flatiron', 1903 |
Stieglitz has chosen to use black and white film while he capture's the photo on a bright day. Taken one year after it was built, he has managed to use a tree on the right hand side of the photo to help frame the image. Not only that but the trees closer to the building helps give the viewer a sense of height and perspective.
Stieglitz has managed to capture the entire building, at the angle he has taken the photo makes the building look thin and doesn't capture it's triangular shape which is very similar to Steichen, only in this photo he has cropped the other trees around the image which forces the viewer to be drawn into the main focus being the building. Compared to Steichen's this photo is very bright and detailed, you can see everything clearly focused.
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| Alvin Langdon Coburn, 'The Flatiron Building', 1911 |
Immediately i notice a difference in this photo compared to the previous two, that being the foot path you see in the other two photos, however Coburn has decided to capture the building from this point of view and use the footpath as one of the main focus's. Another black and white photo this was taken nine years after it was built.
Coburn has captured the business of New York preferably taken at the busiest time of day, formal dressed men can be seen in the centre of the pathway which draws the viewer in, our eyes follow the path up to the building that stands tall in the background.
This image captures the Flatiron building as quite dark, what makes me believe it was taken in the evening is the sky seems to be a little darker and the street lamps look as if they are on. Branches partially cover the Flatiron leading me to how similar this image is when compared to Steichen's photo. However Coburn has managed to keep the branches and people in the photo without it being too much of a distraction from the Flatiron.
The above three photo's all have the similarity being each are taken far enough to capture the buildings and their surroundings unlike Gropius, Evan's and Abbott's photo's. Also, they all seem to have included the tree branches partly covering the Flatiron, this could mean they all stood in a similar place to one another when they took the photo. One outstanding difference would be Stieglitz has chosen to make the tree itself more of a focus than the building, he's done this by capturing the middle of the tree but by keeping it on the right he hasn't covered or distorted the view of the building.
Langdon's photo is similar to Steichen's as they both include the path and people. However Steichen has only included one visible person, the photo being dark makes it harder to see beyond the path other than the building in the background. Langdon has used the path to draw us in, also many more people intrude the photograph which gives the impression it was taken in the late afternoon rush home.
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| Walter Gropius, 'The Flatiron Building, New York', 1928 |
This image has a very yellow ting to it, the camera angle seems to be as if Gropius was standing very close to the building and still managed to get the entire building in. It is obvious that the Flatiron is the main focus of the photo and i think the photographer ust have struggled with keep the proportions of the building. I think the reasons behind taking it as a such an extreme angle was to the Flatirons height, although it looks distorted, it shows the triangular shape and angle.
When compared to the previous three photos, Gropius has captured the most detail of the building, he has managed to keep the brickwork and windows in focus also, as this image concentrates purely on the building not it's surroundings.
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| Walker Evans, 'Flatiron Building seen from below, New York City', 1928-1929 |
This image is harder to understand, it looks as if the photographer has captured the building from a very low angle. There is what looks like a light at the top of the photo and other building parts which all help frame the Flatiron. It's another black and white image, it captures the Flatiron building at such an angle which really gives the building a sense of height. The photo is focused well in the way that the windows can be seen clearly and the surrounding building parts.
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| Berenice, 'The Flatiron Building', 1938 |
This final photo taken by Berenice in 1938 has a very contrasting look to it, another black and white photo but the whites and reflections off the windows stand out. The bottom of the building is cut off and the triangular shape can be seen better here. The light on the building fades the further down you look, highlighting the top of the building which emphasises the height it has. Other buildings can be seen but the Flatiron being the main focus takes over the photo.
I find this photo to be very similar to Walter Gropius's impression of The Flatiron building, he too has a similar angle, however Berenice has captured the building to be standing tall and straight where as Gropius would have taken the photo standing closer to the image which distorts the angle. These two images compared to Evans are similar but very different as Evans has used other building parts such as the walls and lampposts to frame the building. In a way Walker Evans has farmed the photo with other building parts similar to how Steichen, Stieglitz and Coburn used trees to frame the Flatiron building.
Not only this but there is still a feeling of height, as if your looking up at the building. All three have the buiding close to the camera causing it to have more detail and shape. Being so close doesnt just emphasise the height of the building, but also makes the image clearer and easier to read.
In my opinion i find Steichen, Stieglitz and Coburn's photos more interesting as i feel the images have more detail when looking at The Flatiron's surroundings. However all six images are all cleverly taken with various camera angles and positions all leading to six well known photos of the famous Flatiron.
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