Edward Steichen, 'The Flatiron, New York', 1905
This image is quite dark and atmospheric due to being shot late evening after it had been raining, I can tell this because of the street lamps and the way the path in the bottom third of the image is very shiny. The building has been set in the background so it appears as almost a silhouette, the tree branches that are coming across the image seem to be the focal point. All of these things create a painterly effect that could push this image into the sublime. It could even become about the two figures that you can see walking in the park, the image here is not just about the Flatiron but also what goes on around it. The figures, trees and buildings to the right do show the enormity of the Flatiron that had only been finished two years prior to when this image had been taken. Due to the way this has been shot, we start to think that there could be a deeper meaning behind it. Maybe Steichen was making a comment at the growth of Human kind and the loss of nature.
Alfred Stieglitz, 'The Flatiron', 1903
This image by Stieglitz has a different feel to it because it has been shot during a cold winters day, possibly early morning after snowfall. Steichen's image has a similar composition by having the camera set up in the park with the trees masking the building. Being shot in the winter and having snow on the trees could suggest that nature has had its time in this place and it is now the turn for modernisation and for a city to be born (the old and new). The building towers over the trees just in front of it emphasising this idea of modernisation. The camera has been set up so it is far enough from the building to get the whole thing in but close enough that the angle is still looking up at it dominating over the surrounding area. The tree in the foreground and the building have quite a bit of contrast which is the same for Steichen's and Coburn's images, the Flatiron almost blends in to the overcast sky.
Alvin Langdon Coburn, 'The Flatiron Building', 1911
Unlike the images above by Steichen and Stieglitz, Coburn has decided to capture the hustle and bustle of the city by including a lot of people. There looks to be some movement in the people (blurring) so a slow shutter speed is likely to have been used, this also gives the feeling that the city cannot live without this movement of people. The camera looks to be at eye level looking up at the building which shows the scale as the people are so small compared to it. Coburn has decided to capture the trees within this image like Steichen and Stieglitz, he could be suggesting the same comment about nature and humanity. The Flatiron is quite light and gray tonally compared to the black silhouettes of the trees and people, this makes it stand out and become more important than that around it.
Walter Gropius, 'The Flatiron Building, New York', 1928
A much closer camera position has been used this time and the Flatiron is almost the only thing within the image, this gives a documentary feel. A much smaller building can be seen in the middle which gives scale to the Flatiron as it was the first skyscraper to have been built in New York in 1903. Gropius has only photographed the building as he was an architect who must have been interested in this building. He has photographed the building during the day with barely any clouds, this allows us to see the detail of the building rather than it being quite a surreal subject.
Walker Evans, 'Flatiron Building seen from below, New York City', 1928
Quite a different shot compared to the others, the camera position is a lot closer than the others. This has meant that Walker's camera angle is also much more severe, like a tourist looking up at an attraction. Maybe Walker shot the Flatiron looking up to suggest that the modernisation and development of the city had begun and this would be the way you would have to view buildings, by looking up from the street. Like several of the images of the Flatiron building Walker has also decided to shoot when the sky is very clear with no distractions in it. The use of showing small parts of another building, lamp post and possibly the subway tracks could suggest that this is an area that is used a lot.
Berenice Abbott, 'The Flatiron Building', 1938
This image is quite similar to Walter Gropius' image in the way that you can see a lot of the detail of the building and that there isn't really anything that takes your focus away from the Flatiron. Abbott has composed this image with the Flatiron just off centre and like the two images above has decided to angle the camera upwards to make this completely about the building rather than of its surrounding area like Steichen, Stieglitz and Coburn. Again like Gropius' image Abbott has used a great depth of field to make sure every part of the image is in focus, this is because she is suggesting that the whole scene is important to look at. So saying that we then look at the buildings to the right that give the Flatiron its domineering scale and with a flat sky that doesn't distract you from the buildings. There is little contrast within this image due to the lighting being quite diffused.
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