• A Danish photographer.
• Studied at the Institute of Design Art school in Chicago.
• He developed a graphic black and white aesthetic which he is mainly known for.
• He studied various silhouettes and industrial structured which he turned into dynamic, abstract patterns,
• Once he returned to Chicago he then produced various photos of harbours and railways which led to a collection of photos being published in the book “Fragments of a city” in 1960.

Examples of his work –

Analysis –

I think that this is a successful picture taken by Keld Helmer-Petersen in his well-known, abstract graphic black and white style which I will use to reference in my own work because I like how Helmer-Petersen has taken a photo of a fire escape where there would be many lines created due to the stairs which creates the atmosphere of chaos which would happen if there was a fire as everyone would be panicking. I also like how the black and white graphic effect creates this feeling of smoke, which would be caused if there was a real fire and makes the photo appear as if it is foggy as the background is a murky white colour which would be created in an event of a fire and it stands out well against the dark railings because of the heavy contrast between them of the two tones, which I really like as it is able to catch your attention and make you think about what may be happening in this photo and if there was a real fire taking place. I think that the bendy line, created by a railing adds a high level of contrast to the photo as it is seen to be very uniformed in a way with straight lines which are sort of in an order whereas this looks really out of place because the others are straight whereas this is not.