The Steerage 1907 by Alfred Steiglitz

The Steerage 1907 by Alfred Steiglitz 

The image appears to be a documentary photograph however, when Steiglitz composes his images he does not think about the people and whats actually going on in the image, he only sees the shapes created but the location. For example, the triangle created by the large metal pole in the left of the image, the mast across the top of the image and the railing people are leaning on are the reasons he has composed the photograph in that particular way. "A round straw hat, the funnel leaning left, the stairway leaning right, the white draw bridge with its railings made by circular chains, white suspenders crossing on the back of a man in the steerage below, round shapes of iron machinery, a mast cutting into the sky, making a triangle shape... I saw pictures of shapes , and underlying that the feeling I had about life." 

Many people would not see the image the way Steiglitz does as fine art, and just sees and explores the subjects. You can see the upper class people with bowler hats are on the top deck while the working class are in the bottom half of the picture in the steerage. This is documenting how immigrants were treated in America and were not deemed fit to mix with upper class people. Also how the different classes dressed. 

G Clarke wrote the book The Photograph and in chapter nine analyzing  The Steerage and Steiglitz thought behind it. He writes about how the photographer believes photographs should be strictly photographic (no soft focus images, brush marks or textured paper) avoiding manipulation. The photograph should be "pure" and that a subject should be photographed the way it is.