Nature Photography:

Nature photography is a broad photographic genre which covers photos of all things
natural, including both landscapes and animals.

Good Example 1:

Joel Sartore: https://www.joelsartore.com/photo-ark/

Source: https://www.joelsartore.com/bir024-00293/

This photo is part of an on-going series by Joel Sartore called the Photo Ark, the main goal of
this series of photos is to photograph every species of animal known to man into a digital
‘Noah's Ark’. With this goal in mind its noticeably clear that this is a well-done photo, the
subject is in frame and you the focus reveals a lot of detail you normally wouldn’t get to the
chance to look at in person with an animal like this. The lighting is also well done which adds
to the clarity of this photo, which I feel is most important when trying to photograph
animals.

Good Example 2:

Edward Burtynsky: https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

Source: https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/tailings

Another example of good nature photography, this time focusing on landscapes instead of
an animal subject. I feel this image is good as the photographer clearly took into mind the
framing of the shot to draw your attention. The bright orange river in the middle clashing
with the drab and barren black dirt around it is visually impressive, and the foggy horizon
with the few trees are also visually appealing. All the components together create imagery
of life within death almost, with the dead landscape all clashing against the vibrant river.
Doesn’t Work:

Eliot Porter

Source: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/white-aspens-and-hillside

In my opinion this is an example of bad nature photography. It’s another example of

landscape photography within nature photography however this one feels like it has no goal
in mind. It has no focus and instead tries to cram as much surrounding environment into
one image, with the tops of the trees on the bottom and the rolling hills in the background
being cut off right where they begin to look visually interesting. It seems like the exposure
isn’t balance correctly as well, everything appears to be too bright towards the bottom of
the image. Everything I've discussed makes the image feel (to me) unnatural ironically.
Abstract Photography:

Abstract photography is the art of producing an image using objects and patterns that may
not have an immediate association with image you are producing.

Good Example 1:

Aaron Siskind

Source: https://www.robertkleingallery.com/aaron-siskind-1
I feel this is a good example of abstract photography as you can distinguish both the
‘abstract image’ and the surface level objects at once. The wooden background adds a good
amount of depth despite being a flat surface due to the wood grain, and the darkness of it
really brings out the brightness of the glove. The positioning in the photo creates this image
of a hand grasping out from the darkness which I think comes across clear and looks great.

Good Example 2:

Edward Weston

Source: https://www.invaluable.com/blog/edward-weston-photography/

I would argue this is another case of good abstract photography in my opinion, once again it
highlights good usage of positioning to give life and a new vibe to objects. In this photo the
positioning and lighting give this cabbage head a feeling of liveliness, it looks almost like a
jellyfish, or an alien creature and it contrasts with the pitch-black background adds to this
alien vibe.

Doesn’t Work:

Ola Kolehmainen
Source: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/kolehmainen-ola-1871-c-c3040b7a4e

My reasoning for this one not working as abstract photography is much different to my
reasonings for the nature photography one. This photographed is well framed, has a clear
focus and the photographer is obviously very technically capable. However, the reason this
is a bad example of abstract photography is because it isn’t abstract enough, there is no
deeper image than the block of flats, there is no creative usage of the environment or
objects, it’s simply a well taken photograph of a block of flats.