The flatiron building is located at 175 fifth avenue in he borough of Manhattan, new York city and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and the only skyscraper north of 14th street. The building sits on a triangular island block formed by fifth avenue, Broadway and east 22nd street, with 23rd street grazing the triangles northern peak. As the French celebrated their Eiffel tower so did the Americans regard he flatiron building as the icon of a city being modernized and to be celebrated resulting in many different photographs of the building. When analysing this image I though it compared to the photo The Flatiron Building, by Alvin Langdon Coburn, as the photo is taken through the trees which takes away the harshness of the building.
The Flatiron building is often seen as a landmark of the ‘new age’ of 20th century architecture. The architectural detail and depth shown in Edward Steichen's photo appears to be lost and unfocussed. The appearance creates a ghostly pictorial composition.
Steichen began experimenting with colour photography in 1904 and became the first photographer in the united states to use the Lumiere Autochrome process. The Autochrome Lumière is an early colour photography process. Patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907, it was the principal color photography process in use, before the advent of subtractive color film in the mid-1930s.
The use of the black and white medium portrayed in this photo creates a dramatic scene and contrast applying more depth and emphasizing the light and shade tonal balance of the building.
Steichen was a leader in the Pictorialist movement, which made photography known as an art form. This made the artist creative and evident, not so much in composition but the way the photo was printed.
When analysing the photo, the image looks like it was taken in the evening, as you notice some light fog, drizzle, Wet road and fuzzy lighthouses. I think these elements build a slightly mysterious mood, similar to the photograph ` The Flatiron Building`, by Alvin Langdon Coburn.
I think the photographers intention is to illustrate the enormity of the flatiron. By focussing on the surrounding images it creates the illusion of scale when viewing the flatiron.
The blackened out branches of the tree exaggerates the frameing and shape of the building, and reflected the pavement which gave the illusion of depth. The time in which the photographs was taken symbolised the change and development of the American wealth and status. The wide angle camera lens denotes the grand design of the building, highlighting its architecture and its alien surroundings. The people within the image gave comparison towards the overshadowing architecture. However i think the camera position is based on the street, looking straight. Although I think the photographer was trying to illustrate scale, I also believe due to the Flatiron Building seen as modern, a lot of general public disliked the idea and therefore think the photographer has chosen to show the building as part of the city, creating the depth of filed as out of focus, loosing its sharpness. 
The soft tones and textures and use of snow portrayed in Steichen’s work creates a similar technique towards Stieglitz piece, as they both portray a to some extent an affecting atmosphere of the ‘old’ America.
But when creating all three photos, Steichen only used one negative, the changeable colouring enabled him to create three significantly different images that convey the chromatic progression of twilight.
Edward Steichen the flatiron new York `1905`
From 1890 to 1895 he was a partner in a photogravure firm. During this period he concentrated on photographing the streets of New York City. In 1902 Stieglitz founded the Photo-Secession Movement which attempted to prove that pictorialist photography was a fine art form. He spent his life fighting for the recognition of photography as a valid art form, and from 1903 to 1917 Stieglitz was publisher and director of Camera Work magazine. The graphic section was run by Edward Steichen (1879-1973).
Alfred Stieglitz:
'the Flatiron Building ‘appeared to be moving toward me like the bow of a monster steamer–a picture of a new America still in the making.’
Similar to Steichen’s work, the use of fog in Alfred Stieglitz photo creates a glum ambiance forming a sense of impediment between the subject and the viewer. Similar to Steichen’s work, the photograph captures the transitional development of a new modern American city.
Camera Work was a quarterly photographic journal published by Alfred Stieglitz from 1903 to 1917. He wanted to establish photography as a fine art. He believes when capturing the perfect image, one subtle gradation of tone and value should be noticed and its artistic beauty depends. Stieglitz also subscribes to a theory that the principal subject of a photo should be in sharp focus while secondary elements should be left out of focus, you can notice when analysing the image appears slightly out of focus.
The receding perspective of the shot and the tight compact crop reveals the patterns and textures of the building, creating a superior sense of depth in the composition. Whilst the detail of the architecture appears less defined. The fog and snow portrays the obstruction and symbolizes the continuity of America's status of wealth and technology. The photographer Stieglitz, saw New York as a culturally deserted environment, and used his photographs for a social documentary, altering America.
The Photograph shows contrast, emphasizing the natural shape of the tree in the snow, and natural evening light is used. The building is an element of beauty, illustrating soft tones and simple shapes. When viewing the tiny figure placed on the park bench, you realise that the building creates the illusion of the figure being small. This emphasizes the height and scale of the building, and the approach of looking up . This creates a sense of dominance and power.
The black and white medium used in the photo, creates a dramatic contrast and depth, emphasizing the form and tone of the architectural building. The medium manipulates the brightness making the composition a focal point. Through out his work he used two cameras to do his work: an 8" x 10" Eastman View with a Packard Shutter and a 4" x 5" Auto Graflex with old Goerz lenses.
Alfred Stieglitz the flatiron `1903`
It is one of the earliest romantic symbols of New York City, an icon that has appeared in countless movie and television productions and on more postcards than perhaps any other modern building. It was immortalized in early photos by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen and since its completion in 1902.
Years before the building went up, the triangular plot of land on which it stands was known as the "flat iron." Once farmland, it later held the St. Germaine Hotel, then the Cumberland Apartments, whose northern face was regarded as prime advertising space and was used by The New York Times to promote itself as the repository of "all the news that's fit to print." The slogan appeared there, glowing in electric lights, before it was ever published in The Times. In this photo you seen the environment is now known as the modern city, with anonymous businessmen.
The Flatiron Building is a right-angle triangle, not an isosceles, as many people think. The 90-degree angle is at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 22nd Street. When analysing the image you think the photo appears out of focus, but in fact when viewing closely you realise some aspects are in focus for example the windows of the Flatiron Building.
When researching, Alvin Langdon Coburn was influenced by the art photographer Fred Holland Day and his photographs captured the pictorial movement. Similar to the photographers Steichen and Stieglitz , his technique portrays a soft focus which links to the mediums shown in paintings.
When observing, the use of the branch placed in the top left hand corner of the frame gives depth, and breaks the hard edge of the structure framing its focal point. The camera position is placed in front of the scene creating the illusion of a passing- by. There are a lot of similarities when comparing The Flatiron Building, by Alvin Langdon Coburn, the flatiron by Alfred Stieglitz and the flatiron new York by Edward Steichen. All three images share similar composition and camera position the presence of trees, the lighting is seen as natural evening light, and all include a street view and human figures.
Alvin Langdon Coburn
In this photograph Gropius found the Flatiron Building profile irresistibly exciting, despite the building's old-fashioned decoration. The way in which the photograph is cropped and framed portrays an original and modern view of the building.
Whereas the three images by Steichen, Stieglitz and Holland Day were shot in a black and white, Walter Gropius was photo was taken in colour. This type of medium emphasized the range of colour tones but highlighted the contrast and lighting tones that lost some depth an detail within the work of art.
Unlike the other photos, you notice no street view, instead the photographer has used A low angle perspective cuts through the frame, emphasising the dynamic lines which lengthened the asymmetrical design of the building. His focus is mainly on the Flatiron Building, as he wanted to emphasize its greatness and modern architecture, denoting an art form of surrealism. This simplistic composition allows the building to be absorbed. Whereas the three previous photographs by Steichen, Stieglitz and Coburn were taken at night, the building became unnoticed.
Walter Gropius the flatiron building New York `1928`
I think In this photograph, the photographer relies on the cameras ability to capture every single detail in sharp focus. He wants the public to notice the Architectural richness and the romance of the Flatiron district. As seen form the title the photograph is taken from below. This gives the impression of the building known for being big, powerful and dominant. The angle of the shot creates the impression of height whilst communicating a sense of authority and credibility.
Evans received his inspiration for street photography form the work of avant-garde European photographs. The style in the 1930`s captured the use of geometric shapes denoting the abstract modern appearance.
Similar to Walker Gropius photograph, Walker Evans photographs the Flatiron Building from a low angle tilt, highlighting the design and texture of the architecture. Similar to Steichen and Stieglitz, Adams uses objects to frame his subject; for example his use of urban structures create an abstract form of the surroundings.
Due to the presence of the lantern shed, and the cropped framing the Flatiron Building appears as closed in creating the illusion of a defined space.
The composition of the photograph; emphasize the strong lines of architecture, which lead the viewers eyes into the main subject.
Flatiron Building, Seen from Below, New York City
Walker Evans
"Photography doesn’t teach you how to express your emotions; it teaches you how to see.“
Berenice Abbott was a documentary photographer; in her photographs she captured two words, such as real and now. The Photograph of the Flatiron Building is a documental representation of the American architecture. The American architecture is known for its diverse and its multicultural society. Over the years the American architecture has been shaped by many internal and external factors, and in 1938 American architecture was not known for its high level of design but was gradually getting known for its number of modern buildings and their variety of conception and form.
In this image Berenice has used a low angle tilt of the camera is similar to the work of Walter Gropius highlighting the slim design of the building and the texture.
In conclusion Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz and Alvin Langdon Coburn represented the icon (The Flatiron Building) through a traditional artistic art form style, capturing the old city in its element. Whereas Walter Gropius, Walker Evans and Berenice Abbott used a documentary approach. They showed the building as an icon of modernization and emphasized the surrealism, and dominance the flatiron building is widely known for.
Berenice Abbott the flatiron building `1938`
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