Abstractions
Definition
Abstractions turn the city into pure visual language—shape, color, texture, rhythm—so the image can stand on its own even if the viewer never identifies the literal subject.
Usage
Abstractions usually begin with proximity and simplification. I work close, or I crop hard, until context stops being the point. I scan for geometry (triangles, grids, arcs), for seams and layers, for unexpected color-blocks, and for surfaces that “organize themselves” under the right light. Side light helps texture; flatter light helps color fields. The best move is often subtractive: remove anything that reintroduces postcard logic.
In Depth
I use Abstractions as a Lexicon term to name a specific shift in intent: the moment when the city stops being “a place” and becomes visual material. This isn’t just “a close-up,” and it isn’t simply “texture.” Abstractions are images where the composition carries the photograph so completely that the literal subject becomes optional. If the viewer can’t immediately identify what they’re looking at—but the image still feels composed and satisfying—that’s usually the territory.
Abstractions are useful because they let me photograph the city the way it often feels while walking: not as a sequence of landmarks, but as a constant stream of patterns and fragments—painted doors, chipped stone, steel seams, repeating tiles, accidental gradients. In a series, they function like punctuation. They reset the viewer’s eye, create rhythm, and give the larger project a sense of design rather than documentation.
They’re also highly portable. Abstraction isn’t tied to a neighborhood or even a specific kind of city. Any place with built surfaces contains abstractions, and once I’ve trained myself to see them, they show up everywhere. The point is not the location; the point is the way the frame is organized.
A few quick ways to spot them in the field:
Stop looking at “things” and start scanning across surfaces for geometry—seams, grids, arcs, and color fields.
Move closer than feels reasonable, then crop further. Abstractions often require ruthless simplification.
Look for clean background planes (blank walls, pavement, sky-reflections) that let shapes read clearly.
Use sidelight for relief and grit; use flatter light for pure color and graphic shape.
Ask one question: if I removed context, would this still work as an image?
Common Pairings
Textures, Color Contrasts, Repetitions, Shaping B&W, Urban Mosaic, Urban Geometry
Common Failure Modes
A confusing crop with no rhythm; too much context sneaking in; “interesting surface” without structure; processing that adds noise instead of clarity.
Hero Image Standard
A frame that reads as intentional composition first and urban fragment second, with a strong organizing principle (contrast, pattern, balance, or flow).
Launch Examples Placeholder
Below are launch examples that show Abstractions in different forms: hard-edge color fields, texture-driven fragments, geometric close-ups, and “almost-recognizable” frames where the city becomes an abstract design. Each image includes a brief note on what the abstraction is doing in the frame, and why I consider it a strong example of the concept.