Patterns in Black and White

Dear Diary,

It has been a long time since I made a photograph for purely its sense of design.  Not really abstract but primarily conceived to emphasize line and shape rather that subject matter.  This image of black iron chairs against a black and white door was very appealing to me.  I guess the art teacher is still under there somewhere!

I used to do this sort of image a great deal more back in my exclusively black and white days.  It felt good to resurrect this old way of seeing the world.  It is a much more analytical form of perception and I am so much more of an intuitive normally.  The chairs are not really chairs but linear elements at interplay with the vertical lines of the door.

One of my favorite photographers is Minor White.  He taught me so much about how to interact with my subjects.  Although not known primarily for abstract images, he nonetheless allowed me to perceive the underlying abstract elements of all things.


One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are. – Minor White