With the goal of being a nature photographer, my eyes are often drawn to flowers, grass, leaves, and plants in general. I focused my pictures on the natural aspect of South Congress Avenue, a place that is all but natural. I challenged myself to find principles of Gestalt in nature, in an extremely industrialized place. I focused on the arrangement, as well as trying to find several of the same plant, to represent the grouping and repetition principles, as well as proximity.

While exploring South Congress for this project, I started to recognize that most of the subjects of my photos were similar in shape, color, and perspective. These three similarities are related to Gestalt’s principles of grouping, repetition, and proximity. Grouping is the relationship between the visual elements of an image by color, shape, location, and orientation. It also establishes a way of order and organization among these visual elements. Repetition is a constant aspect or effect within the image that is being repeated over and over again. Proximity is the distance between visual elements, and how they all work together to make up an image.

In creating my Gestalt collection, I learned to not over think my work. Rather, I adjusted to the flow of the environment. Instead of looking for the perfect shot of Gestalt, I took photographs that were more open for creativity and interpretation. The Gestalt principle I focused on was repetition. The more I photographed, the more I realized that repetition exists beyond a literal sense. Repetition in the environment can be found in elements of light, shadow, textures, patterns, and reflections. Through the process of being open and allowing the pictures to come naturally, I further developed my definition of what repetition means.

When walking along a busy street such as South Congress, it’s easy to overlook the details of your surroundings. I found that I was drawn to the nuances of objects that reveal a world of shadows, colors and texture. I became enthralled with the idea that something, whether it be plant life or industrial objects, may look dull from a distance, but when taking a closer look you can find complexity. Ordinary objects that seemed mundane and displeasing to the eye became something of interest and beauty. The collection of photos relate to Gestalt as a whole because of the proximity to the subject of the photo.

Part of Gestalt theory states that the whole is made up of the sum of its parts, and that is what I decided to focus on for my project. I decided to focus on the little things in our world, more specifically the round objects, which surround us and create our world. Though these objects surround us, they are frequently overlooked, forgotten, and not thought about. Everyone tends to focus on the big picture instead of these fine details that make up the picture.