Oosterdok en Oosterdoksekade, gezien vanaf de Prins Hendrikkade bij het 's-Gravenhekje, Amsterdam before 1894

Gerrit Hendricus Heinen captured this photograph of the Oosterdok and Oosterdoksekade from the Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam. Notice how the composition leads your eye across the scene. The photograph uses a full tonal range, and a high viewpoint to flatten perspective, thereby compressing depth. The detailed foreground gives way to the broader arrangement of shapes formed by the ships, water, and distant structures. This creates a network of signs that direct our reading of the image. The semiotic interplay is at work when the masts and rigging create vertical lines, which contrast with the horizontal quayside to create a complex geometric arrangement. These elements, alongside the reflection of light on the water, introduce both unity and tension. The visual organization reflects a structuralist approach, emphasizing the relationships between the constituent parts of the photograph and how they collectively contribute to the whole image. This interplay invites us to consider how photographic images operate as systems of signs.