From Engineered Ponds to Cheesecake Geometry

This week, Tina hosts a challenge that originally sent me down a rabbit hole of classic car design features. When I first tackled this theme back in 2021, my response was an all-automotive affair. As Tina writes, “This week we look back to 2021 when our Lens-Artists Challenge #174 focused on Shapes and Designs. The subject opens up a world of possibilities, such that building a response is more about eliminating possibilities than finding them.” You can read her full challenge post here. For this round, I’m featuring a wider mix of photos that haven’t appeared in any previous challenge—though I reserve the right to slip in at least one nod to my previous classic car obsession.

My opening photo features a wildlife pond in the White Tanks that is, in fact, a fully engineered, solar‑powered reservoir. I selected this image to highlight the contrast between its mechanical purpose and its natural charm. By using an irregular shoreline of jagged, interlocking rocks to prevent erosion, along with plants arranged in seemingly random patterns, the construction breaks up the harsh, linear shapes typical of man‑made structures. It shows that the most effective designs often borrow nature’s chaotic geometry to blend into their environment. I was so intrigued by the design that I plan to post more about how engineers mimicked nature to keep the park looking “natural.”

In western New Mexico, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument features pyramidal formations that resemble Native American tipis. In this composition, the narrow slot, angled walls, and repeating triangular forms echo the very idea of intentional design, even though they were carved entirely by erosion. The monument, closed for several years, recently transitioned to a reservation-only system, and I’m glad I have these photos to share for those who haven’t yet navigated the new entry process. The shapes feel arranged, almost architectural, making the scene a natural fit for Tina’s design-focused challenge. This is the only truly natural design in my response, shaped entirely by wind, water, and time.

I couldn’t leave out my favorite dessert when it comes to mathematical design. This cheesecake is fluent in geometry: first a perfect circle, then a set of tidy triangles, and finally, a minimalist study in negative space. All that remains of the design are the circular cardboard base and the accordion-pleat paper dividers that once held the slices. Is it magic, or simply the most delicious form of natural disappearance?

In Rotterdam, the Netherlands, one of the most interesting apartment complexes is the Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen), where each wall is angled steeply, and the floors bisect those angles, creating unusually shaped rooms. The interior feels like a study in geometry: triangles, trapezoids, and unexpected slants appearing everywhere you look, all created by the 45‑degree tilt of the cubes. Though compact, our tour of the show cube—configured as a model apartment—revealed a surprisingly spacious interior design spread across three floors.

I promised you a look at an automobile design. In this case, it’s something rare in 21st‑century automotive design: a hood ornament. I’ve never before shared this image, as it was in my private archive of experiments in high‑key photography. This particular ornament, a stylized bird with swept‑back wings, reflects the sculptural flair Packard embraced in the mid‑20th century. Its curves, posture, and streamlined form speak to an era when even functional elements were shaped as works of art. In a challenge about shapes and designs, it’s a reminder that automotive styling once extended all the way to the tip of the hood.

This photo studio recreation at the Albuquerque Museum captures the mechanical rhythm of early photography. The repeating angles of the bellows contrast sharply with the busy, organic patterns of the floral background. It’s a great example of how turn-of-the-century design found a balance between industrial function and decorative Victorian scrollwork.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial relies on simple geometry to tell its story. The dark rectangular wall and its centered opening frame the moment marked “9:01,” the minute before the bombing. Its clean lines and symmetry create a quiet boundary between what was and what followed, a design that speaks through structure rather than words.

Thanks to Tina for this week’s challenge. Even though it was “Looking Back,” I decided not to use any photos that had been included in any previous challenges. If you’d like to pixel-peep or view the metadata, you can find the images on my Flickr site here. Last week, I really enjoyed Egidio’s “Rejected” challenge that focused on recovering photos originally destined for the recycle bin. Next week, Beth hosts the challenge. Be sure to follow her here so you don’t miss her challenge, which goes live at noon Eastern Time on Saturday.

If you’re joining the Lens‑Artists for the first time, welcome—we’d love to see your work. To participate, simply create your own post responding to this week’s theme and include a link to this page so we can find you. Be sure to add the Lens‑Artists tag so your post appears in the WordPress Reader for others to discover. You can find more detailed instructions on how the challenge works here.

John Steiner