Curves and Contrast: An Abstract Study in Shape
What happens when photographers stop looking at the world through objects and start seeing it through shapes?
That question lies at the heart of AAP Magazine #59: Shapes, the latest issue of All About Photo’s international photography publication. Bringing together photographers from 15 countries across four continents, the issue explores the visual language of form through architecture, landscape, portraiture, abstraction, everyday objects, light, shadow, and unexpected compositions.
Rather than simply photographing recognizable subjects, the selected photographers pay attention to the structures hidden within them. Lines become patterns, shadows become silhouettes, buildings become geometric compositions, and familiar scenes take on a new visual identity.
Seeing the World Through Shape
Shape is one of the most fundamental elements of visual composition, but it can also be one of the most powerful. A circle, a diagonal line, a repeated pattern, or the outline of a human figure can completely change how an image is perceived.
The photographers featured in AAP Magazine #59 approach the theme from very different directions. Some create carefully balanced compositions built around symmetry and repetition. Others embrace abstraction, unusual viewpoints, strong contrasts, or visual tension.
Together, the photographs demonstrate that shape does not have to be obvious to be effective. Sometimes it emerges through light and shadow; sometimes through the relationship between people and their surroundings. In other images, it becomes the subject itself.
The Winning Photographers
First Place: Tom Zimberoff (United States)
ReNude
Known for his extensive career in portrait photography, Zimberoff presents an intimate exploration of the human form, using the body as both subject and shape.
Second Place: Matthew Garbutt (United Kingdom)
Unit of Work: 20 Industrial Estates
Garbutt finds rhythm, repetition, and structure within industrial environments, transforming functional spaces into compelling visual compositions.
Third Place: Nicolas Castermans (France)
First Language
Castermans explores form and perception through a highly personal photographic language, creating images that invite viewers to look beyond the immediately recognizable.
Merit Award Gallery
The Merit Award Gallery brings together photographers from around the world, further emphasizing the international scope and diversity of this issue.
Marco Parenti (Italy), Maya Meshel (United States/Israel), Jaroslav Mareš (Czech Republic), Michael Prais (United States), Klaus Lenzen (Germany), Zechen Huang (China), Stuart Chape (Australia), Kazutoshi Takeuchi (Japan), Alireza Bagheri Sani (Iran), Olena Zubach (Ukraine), Claudio Limiti (Italy), Ralph Milewski (Germany), Emily Neville Fischer (United States), Kevin Lyle (United States), Julie V Garner (United States), Jaeseok Lim (South Korea), Carlos Esguerra (Philippines/United States), Julia Classen and Magdalena Lepka (Germany/Austria), Peter Harlow (United Kingdom/Australia), Dede Pickering (United States), Francesca Pompei (Italy), and Tracy Burke (United States).
A Different Way of Looking
From architectural details to human silhouettes, from industrial structures to fleeting patterns of light, AAP Magazine #59: Shapes encourages us to slow down and reconsider what we see every day.
The strength of these photographs lies not only in their technical execution, but in the photographers’ ability to recognize visual possibilities where others might see only ordinary surroundings. A wall, a shadow, a body, a building, or a repeated object can become something entirely different when viewed through the lens of photography.
Ultimately, Shapes is an invitation to look more closely. To notice lines, curves, patterns, spaces, and relationships—and to discover how much visual poetry can exist within the simplest forms.
Explore the winning photographs from AAP Magazine #59: Shapes and discover the photographers who transformed form into visual storytelling.
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