TOPICS , DEFINITIONS and REFERENCE MATERIAL 2020

OPEN (To be submitted in January, March, May, July,

September) This familiar topic allows members to continue developing their skills and extending the range of

photographic styles that they attempt. Members may consider revisiting previous topics; re-working an

earlier image, implementing acquired knowledge; trying new photographic genres; using topics of their

choice; or experimenting with aspect ratios, colour or monochrome or HDR treatments. The variety

produced under this topic will assist with the choice of images for VAPS.

Stone(s) (To be submitted in February)

This topic requires the photographing of stones or rocks, either as separate entities or quarried

and used in architecture, landscaping or monuments. The setting may be natural environment or

urban or rural settings. Emphasize texture and form.

1. 15 Essential Stone Circle Photography Tips Add Comment

Photo by David Clapp

1. Lens Choice

Use a wider angle lens 16-20mm (about 24-30mm in 35mm terms)

2. Focus On Parts Of The Circle

Try isolating two or three of the stones and shoot from a low angle.

3. Get Up High

Find a vantage point at a distance where you can shoot the entire ring from a higher point to show its shape.

4. Check The Weather

Shoot on a bright day for contrast and texture in the stones, but watch for shadows.

5. Get Down Low

Shoot from a low viewpoint to make the stones appear large and dominating.

Photo by David Clapp

6. Go Mono

Try switching to black & white or shoot in infrared for a more moody result.

7. Use Filters

Use a polariser to darken the blue sky to give the shot more impact.

8. Try HDR

Bracket the exposure and merge using HDR technique rather than using a graduated filter as the filter will darken the top half of the stone.

9. No People

Avoid shots with people if you don't want to date the photograph.

10. Create Scale

Include people if you want to show a sense of scale.

Photo by David Clapp

11. Look For Angles

Walk round a few times without taking pictures to get a feeling for the stones and the best angles.

12. Early Or Late?

Light is usually better at the start or towards the end of the day, however as fewer people prefer early starts, photographers tend to have to get up early if they want to capture people-free shots.

13. Think About The Sky

If you're trying to capture the whole circle, you'll need an interesting (large) sky to add balance to your shot as the foreground will appear to be long and thin.

14. Give Panoramas A Try

Try shooting a panorama where you take a series of images that can be joined in post production (or most cameras have this feature built-in) to capture the whole circle.

15. Do You Research

For inspiration and to find out the location of some of the most photogenic stone circles do you research before you leave your house. We have an article listing some of the most popular stone circles in the UK, you can read it here: Stone Circle Locations

Photo by David Clapp

2. WONDERFUL EXAMPLES

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=photographing+stone&id=5DAA2D17420878E6D7B13B49833BAEE0DD659AF5&FORM=IQFRBA

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT (To be submitted in April)

The types of artificial lighting you use in photography give you complete control over the direction, quality, and strength of the light. You can move these light sources around, diffuse them, or reflect them. You can alter their intensity to suit the situation.

It is any light that comes from a man-made light source, so it can come from dedicated photo floods, everyday household lamps, overhead fluorescent lights. Artificial light can be provided in one of two ways, either by a continuous light source, or by a flash of light from a flash gun. Both sources have advantages and disadvantages.

Artificial light appears in a variety of forms. Each type of lighting produces a different colour

temperature that our brain compensates for to make everything appear as though it's neutral light.

The types of artificial lighting you use in photography gives you complete control over the direction, quality, and strength of the light. You can move these light sources around, diffuse them, or reflect them. You can alter their intensity to suit the situation.

When there is not enough sunlight to illuminate a subject or scene, photographers will often rely on flash to lend a hand. Flash can be used as main light, an additional source of light or as fill, which is referred to as "fill flash."

sources are commonly used 1. When the photographer simply requires more light to make the exposure. 2. When the ambient light balance is unsatisfactory and the photographer wants to modify

You will also find articles about artificial lighting, equipment and other light related topics and resources. We have also included some of our favourite light-related websites. Light and lighting is all about understanding the nature of photography. [www.photokonnexion.com/light-resources-articles-and-links/]

Discover the Power of Artificial Light in Photography

The major advantage of artificial light sources over natural light is that you have them fully under your control. There are many tools for changing their characteristics. Artificial light lets you photograph topics that would be impossible to handle under natural light.

Artificial Light

The artificial light sources typically used in photography are constant lights (lamps, daytime permanent photographic lights, hand lamps, etc.) and flashes (studio flash generators and flash guns). Taking pictures with a constant light source is similar to taking pictures with natural light; the main difference lies in the fact that you have many more ways to influence the characteristics of that light.

Taking pictures with flashes works differently than taking pictures with a constant light source. Flashes let you produce several effects that you can’t achieve in constant light. Above all there’s the ability to “freeze” motion—and to create various motion studies with help from a flash’s stroboscopic mode.

The Characteristics of Artificial Light

While your options for influencing natural light’s properties are very limited and to a large degree you just have to adapt to the light, for artificial light sources, there are almost endless ways to affect its properties.

The classical example of taking pictures under artificial light is studio photography. Here, the main subject is placed against a simple dark background. Canon EOS 7D, EF 50/1.8, 1/125 s, f/2.8, ISO 100, focal length 50 mm (80 mm equiv.)

Light Intensity

For artificial light, you have two basic paths for how to adjust the intensity of the artificial light source directly:

Setting Light Intensity The Light’s Distance

The first path is to set the light’s intensity right at its source. For permanent sources, you can do this for example by choosing the outputs of the bulbs you install, and for studio flashes and flash guns, by directly choosing their output.

The other way to influence light intensity is through your choice of how far the light is from the scene. Here the inverse-square law comes into play. The inverse-square law states that light’s intensity drops at the square of its distance from the source. That means that two meters from the source, the light intensity is one fourth of what it is at one meter from the source.

The inverse square law. With twice the distance from the source, the light has one quarter of its intensity. The same amount of photons is falling on four times the surface.

Light Quality

Light quality entirely depends on the relative size of your light source. When using artificial light sources, you have many ways available to control this relative size. The light source itself has a certain absolute size, of course. And where a light bulb would be a very small light source in a given situation, a large LED panel would be a large light source in that same situation. In future articles we’ll take a closer look at how to fine-tune the size of a light source.

Light Color

The color of a flash is usually balanced to match daylight. Among permanent lights, you’ll encounter classical incandescents with their warm (orange) hue, and fluorescents (with a green hue). But today ordinary fluorescents and compact fluorescents are both available in daylight versions. Modern LED panels are also balanced for daylight.

Light Direction

While sunlight’s direction depends on the time of the year and day, for an artificial light source, you can choose its direction precisely to fit your photographic goals.

To get a perfectly white background, I illuminated the seamless polypropylene background behind the model with a flash light. Canon EOS 7D, EF 50/1.8, 1/125 s, f/4, ISO 100, focal length 50 mm (80 mm equiv.)

Experiment with the Properties of Artificial Lights

You don’t need expensive studio equipment to master work with artificial light sources. Even a cheap off-brand flashgun will serve you well as a studio flash. And even an ordinary desk lamp can be your constant light source.

Images taken with artificial lighting

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=artificial+lighting+in+photography&id=AD86122706018B169C8096EA0F85

B21DE11D63BC&FORM=IQFRBA

Landscapes in black and white (To be submitted in June)

Article 1 : How to Take Better Black and White Landscape Photos

BY SPENCER COX

Landscape photography goes hand in hand with black and white. It isn’t just because of famous landscape photographers like Ansel Adams, but also because the intricate shapes that attract our attention in nature often “just feel right” in monochrome. Want to take better black and white landscape photos? This article explains why such images work so well, including how to make your own black and white landscape photography as strong as possible.

What Changes (and Doesn’t) in Black and White

At the surface, a good black and white photo is still just a good photo. You’ll see many pictures that work well in both color and in black and white. Sometimes, it may even be difficult to pick which version is better. That’s pretty clear evidence that the underlying elements of composition are just as important no matter what palette you are using.

The only thing that really changes with black and white photography is that you are eliminating a pillar of your creative toolset. You’re deleting it completely and replacing it with… nothing. And when color is no longer a relevant force, your viewer’s eye is drawn to different places in the image. In a way, the rest of the photo takes on more emphasis and importance as a result.

Say, for example, that you are photographing sunbeams filtering through a morning forest. Your goal may be to emphasize the gentle path of light, especially how it intersects with the texture of tree trunks. Even if there is a green canopy of leaves overhead, that’s not the critical part of your message. Although I have no doubt that such an image could look good in color, it’s not what matters here – where you want all your viewer’s attention on the sunbeams.

NIKON D7000 + 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, ISO 360, 1/200, f/4.0 And, of course, color actively does damage to other images (rather than simply being an unneeded element of the landscape). Under difficult light, you may find that colors are distracting and counter to your message, making the overall photo look dull or distasteful. If the colors in a photo simply don’t work, converting to monochrome is one of the best remaining tools to improve your photo.

Of course, don’t think you can just convert a bad photo to B&W and end up with something good. If your light, subject, and composition have fundamental flaws, black and white won’t save the day. This is something we talk about in our larger guide to black and white photography.

Specific Considerations for Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is defined by the following three elements (although not every landscape photo has all of them): foreground, background, and sky. All three of these features change when you shoot in black and white.

First, landscape photographers often choose a foreground based on how it draws the eye. That still applies in black and white, but it’s now more important to find subjects that stand out in brightness from their surroundings, especially with strong shapes or leading lines. It’s why landscapes like rock formations in Utah work so well for black and white work, while something like lupine flowers might not (unless they stand out from their green surroundings in brightness).

NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 @ 20mm, ISO 100, 1/100, f/16.0 Beyond that are the middleground and background. With black and white, I’ve always found it tricky to

avoid large, uninteresting swaths of uniform gray in a photo. It’s a major reason why I rarely convert macro photos to black and white: their colorful out-of-focus backgrounds would become unending gray. By the

same token, if the background of your landscape photo has structure only because of small color contrasts, you’ll lose that subtlety in black and white. I would never convert the image below to black and white, for

example, since the background is built on the purple/green contrast:

NIKON D800E + 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 100, 1/6, f/16.0 But the photo below has a middleground and background of angular shapes, which are equally strong with and without color:

NIKON D800E + 35mm f/1.8 @ 35mm, ISO 100, 1.3 seconds, f/16.0

Last is the sky, an element that can make or break any landscape photo – especially in black and white. At sunrise, a gentle pink cloud against the pastel sky can be a very emotive element. But with monochromatic photography, it can fade into its surroundings and look no different than a thin cloud in the middle of the day. It’s not that gentle clouds are always bad for black and white landscapes, but you do have to watch out more that your sky has the contrast you want. This is also why a polarizing filter can be a big help with black and white landscape photography, maybe even more so than in color.

NIKON D800E + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/3, f/16.0 How to See in Black and White

One of the tricky parts of black and white photography is that it often works best when you plan your photos to be monochromatic from the start. You create your composition with contrast, light, and texture in mind – not color. But we don’t see the world in black and white, so it’s not a natural thing to do. How can you find your way around this mental block and envision the world more easily in shades of gray?

The obvious answer is that you’ll get better at it over time, especially if you shoot in black and white a lot. Does anyone doubt that lifelong B&W film photographers can envision almost any landscape accurately in monochrome? There’s nothing stopping digital photographers from exercising the same mental muscles – although that route takes a lot of time before you have a perfectly accurate “monochrome mindset.”

In the meantime, there’s a bit of a cheat: set your in-camera JPEG mode to black and white, while still shooting RAW. This doesn’t change the RAW data from any camera (it’s still a color image when you open it on your computer) but you end up with a live black and white preview on the LCD or EVF. I’ve always found this to be the easiest way to envision monochrome images in landscape photography. It also comes without any real risks, since you can always revert to the color version back on your computer.

NIKON Z 7 + 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm, ISO 64, 1/40, f/9.0 To Filter or Not to Filter?

Aside from polarizers, which I highly recommend, are there any other special considerations for using a filter in black and white landscape photography? After all, some of them – specifically color filters – are almost exclusively intended for monochrome work. It seems a bit of a shame to leave all those high-quality red and yellow filters on the shelf of the camera store. But that might actually be the right move.

First, here’s a quick illustration of a color filter’s effect on black and white pictures:

As you can see, color filters lighten objects with their color, while darkening the opposite (complement) color. For example, a red filter darkens blue and green while brightening red areas. In most landscape photos, this increases contrast by darkening the sky and grass, while leaving other parts of the image unscathed. B&W film photographers commonly buy a filter set of red, orange, yellow, and green, although you can find them in far more colors than that if you look.

My biggest problem with color filters for black and white photography is that their effects are not really possible to remove if you later decide you prefer the color version of an image (a digital-only problem, of course). You’re committing yourself pretty strongly to black and white when you use one of these filters.

Not to mention, if you don’t use a color filter, you still have the option to replicate it in post-processing without much difficulty. You can just select the “blues” or “greens” and darken/lighten them as you please. The effect isn’t exactly the same, and overdoing it can add noise to an image, but ultimately it’s the more flexible option in many cases.

For that reason, unless you are shooting film or really want to go all-out with digital, I don’t recommend color filters for black and white photography. Stick with a polarizer (and ND filters as needed), and you’ll be good.

Rapid-Fire Creativity Tips

There are a few elements of creative photography that matter more in black and white than anytime else. Here are the most important of those tips for capturing landscapes in monochrome:

1. It’s About Shapes (and Contrast)

I’ve alluded to it a few times, but black and white photography doesn’t give you as many elements to work with in terms of separating and defining your subject. You can’t rely on color to do your bidding. Instead, shapes and contrast do that job, because they stand out no matter their color. So, when you’re framing a composition, be aware that viewers will lock onto shapes and contrast very easily in B&W work, more so than in color. It’s how their eyes move across the frame.

NIKON D800E + 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 100, 1/10, f/16.0 2. Watch the Shadows

Shadows carry emotion in every photo. Are they hard-edged and nearly black? The photo will look more intense and powerful. Are they open, with smooth transitions? The photo will appear calmer and gentler. Creative photography is about conveying the emotions you want – and for black and white, that starts with your shadows. Both in the field and in post-processing, pay attention to the darkest regions of the photo. The rest of the image will flow from there.

3. And Explore the Midtones

It’s a bit of a myth that every black and white photo needs to have both pure white and pure black. No one will recommend that to you outright, but it’s a subconscious style that many photographers adopt because it’s what we see in other monochromatic work. There’s nothing wrong with the midtones, though; many of my favorite B&W images of all time are low-contrast landscapes centered on middle gray, such as images of aspen trees and sand dunes. High-contrast images work in many cases, but that’s not the only way to create good black and white work.

NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 70mm, ISO 100, 1/13, f/16.0 4. Spend Time in Post, Locally and Globally

I see a lot of people convert an image to black and white, add some contrast, and maybe slap on a “noire” preset. To them, black and white is just an easy way to edit a moody image – a tool lacking in subtlety, much like an Instagram filter. But black and white photos demand just as much post-processing as usual, and more in many cases. That includes both global and local adjustments.

To me, global edits are about emotion, while local edits are about drawing the viewer’s eye. Use basic adjustments to brightness and contrast to impart the mood you want on a photo, while you locally dodge and burn objects in the landscape to emphasize or obscure them. Black and white photos often allow more intense processing than color photos before they appear fake, but it’s just as important as ever to be subtle and not overdo your edits.

5. Learn the Elements of Emotion

Every decision you make in photography – whether black and white or not, landscape or not – has an impact on the photo’s emotion. Are you composing a balanced or imbalanced frame? Is the image bright and airy or dark and powerful? Are the lines in the photo smooth and curved or rough and jagged?

Be aware that each of these choices – and countless others – are the building blocks of a photo’s mood. Focus your composition on including elements that add to your chosen mood and message, not detract from them. And it might just be me, but I think viewers often notice these things consciously in black and white more than in color, since the image is less about realism and more about the fundamental elements of composition.

NIKON D800E + 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 400, 0.8 seconds, f/9.0 When Black and White Landscape Photos Don’t Work

Some objects, we identify almost exclusively by their shapes: tree branches, fences, rocks, sand dunes, and so on. We don’t need colors to understand what they are, or to relate to them. For that reason, they often – though certainly not always – look good in black and white.

Other things rely on color. When I Google “black and white photo with rainbow,” half the images include a color rainbow. Because, really, a bright curve doesn’t strike us as a rainbow unless it has colors. The same is true with something like a ladybug – so associated with its red color that it hardly feels like the same subject otherwise. Sure, you can take black and white photos of either of these subjects successfully, but it’s far from the norm. And it can feel strange if you attempt it without care.

No, if color is what gives your subject structure and personality, it’s usually best to keep it in. I mentioned earlier that color contrast is sometimes essential to avoid a muddy look in the image, and that remains accurate. But in many cases, the true reason to take a color photo is more fundamental: color is an important part of the subject’s story. Removing color would harm your message, not improve it, since the emotion you’re after is well-served by the hues in the image. See also our article on the emotions of color in landscape photography.

NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 70mm, ISO 100, 6 seconds, f/22.0 Conclusion

Hopefully, this article gave you some food for thought with black and white landscape photography. There is no rule saying when a particular photo will work well in black and white or not; a lot of it is about taking a step back and examining if it just looks right to you. But underneath the “looks right” impression are the variables I talked about above – things like color contrast, emotion, light, and shapes, all of which change in message when you make that conversion.

Are there any subjects you prefer for black and white landscape photography? I’ve always been a fan of monochromatic sand dunes and forests, while usually preferring color for wide-angle sweeping vistas at sunrise or sunset. Then again, you can take good black and white pictures at any type of landscape. It just helps to know ahead of time that it’s what you plan to do.

NIKON Z 7 + 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm, ISO 64, 1/125, f/9.0

Article 2

Black and White Landscape Photography | Richard Walker ...

https://richardwalker.photography/black-and-white-landscape-photography

Article 3

Beautiful Black and White Landscape Photography https://www.99inspiration.com/2016/08/beautiful-black-and-white-landscape-photography/

Examples

Images of Photography of Landscapes Black and White

bing.com/images

27 Black and White Landscape Images

https://digital-photography-school.com/27-black-and-white-landscape-images/

224 Best Landscape Photography Black And White images ...

https://www.pinterest.com/sbelknap69/landscape-photography-black-and-white

Home Turf (To be submitted in August)

This topic requires images of Phillip Island. Members are encouraged to present a variety of images with

different moods, styles, seasons of the year, time of day or night, environmental portraits, landscapes,

seascapes, cloudscapes, urban landscapes, street landscapes, night / astronomical scapes, events,

significant structures, geology etc. Use all your skills and try to provide a different or new look of the

island/ people/ visitors/ wildlife.

The rationale for this topic is to build the Club's collection of images of Phillip Island.

"Less is more" - Robert Browning (To be submitted in October)

Definition : Minimalist photography

Minimalist photography is a form of photography that is distinguished by extreme, austere simplicity. It emphasizes sparseness and focuses solely on the smallest number of objects in the composition process. (Wikipedia) ( Read definition in conjunction with article below,)

Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography

CHRISTINA HARMAN

In today’s visually-saturated world, the simplistic style of minimalist photography offers visually-soothing

results – with plenty of breathing room. Minimalism provides a refreshing visual break from the constant

flood of information, and visual noise that we face every day.

i

mage by Sodanie Chea

What is Minimalism Anyways?

Minimalist photography draws inspiration from the concept of minimalism in art – a style of art that was

used by many 20th century artists. Artistically speaking, minimalism depends on high simplicity and

involves using a minimal amount of compositional components such as shape, color, and line.

The goal of minimalist art, or photography, is to convey a concept – or an idea – provoke an emotional

response, or provide a unique visual experience. Compositional elements must be kept to a minimum, and

the ones that are left should be essential for conveying the overall idea, or symbolism, of the photo.

As with any photographic style, minimalist photography has its own set of challenges – mostly due to the

fact that minimalism is based on simplicity, and it can be a challenge to eliminate all but the most necessary

elements of a composition, and focus only on a limited number of objects and elements when creating a

composition. Minimalism forces you to view the world differently, and will challenge you to look beyond the

obvious for hidden photographic opportunities.

Ready to get started?

Read on to see how you can employ some of the techniques of minimalism to benefit your photography,

and find out how you can get started with minimalist photography.

Learn to See

image by davide ragusa via Unsplash

Photographic opportunities are all around us, but they are all-too-easy to overlook. Learning to think outside

the box, and look for hidden opportunities is the first step towards mastering minimalist photography. When

you’re out with your camera, look for open spaces, bright blocks of color, interesting geometric patterns or

lines, and subjects that stand alone against simplified backgrounds – all excellent opportunities for

minimalist photography.

Keep it Simple

image by Jon Phillips

When it comes to minimalist photography, less is more. Minimalist photography attempts to

explore how much information can be taken away from a composition, before it loses its impact.

Remember to keep it simple, and make it powerful. When it comes to minimalist photography, the

more outstanding and eye-catching an image is, the better. Your goal is to include only the

information that’s required in order to show the message that you want to convey.

Create a Strong Composition

image by Dyaa Eldin Moustafa via Unsplash

Minimalist photography relies upon simple compositions, but this doesn’t mean that it should be boring –

minimalist photography allows a lot of room for creativity. The challenge is applying the concept of

minimalism, and keeping all distracting and unnecessary details out of the photo, allowing all of the

attention to be brought toward the concept, or subject of the photo.

Strong Leading Lines

image by Andrea Boldizsar via Unsplash

In art, as well as photography, lines are a common compositional technique used to draw the viewer into a

composition, or to convey a sense of depth or distance. When it comes to minimalist photography, strong

lines play a major role in many compositions. Lines can show isolation, separation, connection, distance,

proximity and depth. Strong vertical or horizontal lines can also act as a central element, providing a solid

structure to the composition.

Geometric Patterns

image by Georgie Pauwels

Look for geometric patterns when composing minimalistic photos. Architecture is a great place to find

geometric patterns, as you can often find entire walls of patterns to incorporate into a shot. Staircases, park

benches, bridges, windows, and brick walls are all excellent places to find interesting geometric patterns.

Negative Space

image by JoshuaDavisPhotography

Negative space is the valuable breathing room that’s an essential part of minimalist photography. Look for

negative space, walls of color, and simplified backgrounds to incorporate into your photos. Angle your shots

up and using the blue sky as a simplified background, or capture your subjects in front of a wall – just be

sure to incorporate plenty of negative space into your photos.

Contrast

image by rekre89

Contrast is one of the most important qualities when it comes to eliciting an emotional response.

Contrasting colors, shades, patterns, shapes, or even contrasting ideas are effective ways to create

compositional tension that grabs the viewer’s attention and makes them think – or to convey a powerful

message.

Textures

image by Romany WG

Good use of color and interesting textures are both key elements to minimalist photography. Some

minimalist compositions even feature texture as the key component. Try to use light to improve the texture

and bring out the colors and contrast. Your goal is to capture an image that the viewer can almost feel.

Light and Dark

image by Susanne Nilsson

The importance of lighting in minimalist photography cannot be overstated! Both light and shadow can both

be used to create minimalist photos. Try to look for opportunities where the light really brings out the colors

or textures in a scene. Or look for dark shadows to feature as a central part of your composition.

Tell a Story

Minimalism attempts to use as few details as possible to convey a concept, create a unique visual

experience, or to tell a story. By incorporating an interesting subject, the right elements, lighting, and

angles, you can create a photo that tells a story, and provides the viewer with a glimpse into a moment in

time. Remember, simplified photos can have a powerful effect when they are well-composed.

The next time you’re out with your camera, look for opportunities to create simplified and powerful images.

Learning to look for hidden gems of opportunity where others wouldn’t find anything is an exciting challenge

– and lots of fun.

Challenge yourself, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Minimalism is a very subjective style, open to

interpretation, so don’t be concerned if others don’t see things exactly how you do. Just remember to enjoy

the learning curve, and have fun.

Incorporating a minimalist perspective into your photography style will inject new life into your photos, and

will help you to transform everyday moments into unique photographic works of art.

Minimalist Photography ~ 4 Tips To Keep It

Simple With A Maximum Impact

A Post By: Valerie Jardin

Minimalism is a very subjective concept in the art world. The Webster dictionary defines it as follows: A style or technique that is characterized by extreme sparseness and simplicity. Some love it, others hate it, but no one seems to be indifferent. Many artists thrive in the openness of the concept, others have a problem with the lack of definition and direction. Many of us are drawn to ‘less is more’ with simple lines, geometric patterns, strong shadows, contrasting colors, lone subjects, etc. For others, deciding what to leave out of the frame to make a stronger image is a difficult exercise. Here are a few tips and examples to get you started in your quest for minimalist imagery.

©Valerie Jardin ~ Bright colors make great minimalist subjects.

1. Composition “Keep it simple” doesn’t mean “keep it boring”. Contrary to what you may think, a minimalist approach requires a lot of creativity. The use of negative space is an integral part of minimalist photography. A well placed subject doesn’t have to be large to have a big impact. Deciding what to leave out of the frame and create a stronger image can be challenging and often requires a lot of practice until it becomes the way you see. I recommend training yourself to make those decisions in camera instead of cropping unwanted distractions in post processing. A clever use of depth of field will also isolate your subject from the background by shooting with an aperture as wide (smallest number) as your lens will allow.

2. Textures and colors A bright color or contrasting colors make great minimalist subjects. The same applies to textures. The viewer should be able to almost feel the texture. Sometimes it’s all about finding a creative angle to make the photograph. Don’t be afraid the experiment. Shoot straight on, shoot high or low, work your frame until you get the shot that will speak to you.

3. Lines and geometric patterns Strong lines make strong images. A good place to get started with minimalist photography is by paying attention to modern architecture around you. Leading lines, and other geometric shapes, can make great backdrops for minimalist pictures. Isolating a bird on a power line, if done well, can make a great minimalist shot. There are great opportunities around you all the time, you just have to learn to see them and that requires practice.

4. Telling a story Push your minimalist photography to the next level by telling a story. Minimalist street photography showcases an interesting urban landscape with a human element. The human element, however small, becomes the focal point of the image. Yet, it’s the interesting background that draws the photographer to make the shot. Symmetry, lines, curves, shadows all play a vital part in making the photograph. Sometimes the story and the environment come together spontaneously and it’s the photographer’s job to see it and respond quickly. Other times it require a bit of patience for the right subject to walk through the frame. A minimalist approach to photography can be applied in nature as well as in an urban environment. You can practice anywhere, so get out there and open yourself to a different way of seeing with your camera!

©Valerie Jardin ~ The use of negative space is an integral part of minimalist photography.

©Valerie Jardin ~ Using a shallow depth of field will allow you to isolate your subject from a distracting background.

©Valerie Jardin ~ You can use a minimalist approach in nature as well as in an urban environment.

©Valerie Jardin

©Valerie Jardin

©Valerie Jardin

©Valerie Jardin ~ Strong lines make strong images.

©Valerie Jardin

©Valerie Jardin

©Valerie Jardin ~ The viewer should be able to almost feel the texture. Sometimes it’s all about finding a creative angle to make the photograph.

©Valerie Jardin ~ Minimalist street photography showcases an interesting urban landscape with a human element.

©Valerie Jardin ~ The human element, however small, becomes the focal point of the image.

A 10 Step Guide to Superb Minimalist Photography by Simon Bray29 Nov 2010

Composition

We often hear the phrase 'less is more', and this couldn't be more apt than when appreciating minimalism.

When executed well, minimalist photography can be an extremely simple but dramatic way to capture

images. But how should we interpret, understand and execute minimalism within our own work?

Step 1. Understand Minimalism

Minimalism is a style employed by many 20th Century artists, using a minimum amount of components

such as colour, shape, line and texture. Within the art world it is considered an extremely subjective

concept, leaving interpretation and meaning up to the viewers perception of the work.

Some appreciate the openness of this idea, embracing the freedom of interpretation, where others despise

the lack of direction or subject matter. For photographers, this is less of an issue, as more often than not, a

photo remains a real-life moment captured on film. Despite this, we can employ some of the techniques of

minimalism to enhance the impact of our work.

Step 2. Keep It Simple

When understanding how to achieve minimalism, the rule is to keep it simple. But that doesn't mean it

needs to be boring or uninteresting. Try to pick a striking and engaging subject that will catch the eye. The

subject has to be the strongest element of the shot, even though it may not take up the majority of the

frame.

Before you take your shot, take a moment to consider what you are going to include in your shot, but also

what you are going to leave out. The space around a subject will accentuate it's prominence, so look to

zoom in or crop out any distractions.

Step 3. Composition

Achieving a strong compositional element to a minimalist photo is absolutely key in enhancing the impact of

the shot. Like I mentioned in Step 2, what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in, so take

some time to consider the structure of the subject and the space within which it is placed.

The "rule of thirds" applies here and will help when deciding how to frame your subject. Strong composition

can also incorporate square structures and line, which we will come to later on, but keep an eye out for

strong shapes and lines which might lend themselves to a minimalist shot.

Be sure to focus in on the subject, and if possible, select a depth of field that will make the subject stand

out, this will draw the eye into the shot and enhance impact.

Step 4. Complimentary Colour

The use of colour in minimalist photography is highly evident and it is an extremely useful tool when it

comes to capturing an eye catching yet simple shot. What many minimalist photos lack in subject matter

they make up for in colour and in this case, the brighter the better!

Try to use the available light to bring out the colours within the scene. Many shots work based around a

single colour, including both the subject and the background, but this can be difficult to find, so keep an eye

out for either colours that compliment each other, or a combination of contrasting colours.

Step 5. Strong Line

In a similar way to the use of colour in minimalist photography, the effectiveness of line within a shot can be

vital in adding to the image when subject matter is limited. As I mentioned before, strong horizontal or

vertical lines lend themselves to strong composition, as they will give a solid structure to the image.

The old adage of using line to draw the eye into the shot is also relevant here. Consider where the line is

leading, for example from the centre of the image leading away to the edge, or from a corner into the

centre, with regard to what you want to the viewer to take away from the image.

Step 6. Getting All Touchy Feely

Like a lot of minimalist art, some minimalist shots are based purely on texture and colour, yet they grab

your attention even without any distinct subject matter. For this, you need not only an engaging surface, but

also the means to capture it in an interesting way.

Consider whether there is any direction to the texture and whether that line can be used effectively in a

compositional sense. Try to use light to enhance the texture, to bring out the contrast and look to capture

the image so the viewer could almost feel what they are seeing.

Step 7. Keep Your Eyes Open

Once you have spent some time studying minimalist examples, you'll begin to appreciate the examples of

minimalism that surround you each and every day. When you're out and about, keep your eyes open for

spaces and blocks of colour, interesting subjects that stand alone and clean lines. Look up, look down,

keep searching and you will be rewarded.

A good place to start might be within geometric shapes found within architecture, which often include a

whole wall of re-occurring pattern that can be exploited as a minimalist photo.

Step 8. Process

Processing minimalist shots should be reasonably simple, as having captured your shot, you should have a

good notion of what you want to produce—something simple but dramatic. Something you might want to

consider is experimenting with the more surreal images, using an artistic viewpoint to create an image that

may be unrecognisable from it's original state but functions instead as a piece of art.

However, you may also want to stay true to life and simply process your image with a focus on bringing out

the subject and enhancing the lines and colour within the shot.

Step 9. Tell the Story

Many minimalist photos are eye catching, featuring simple lines, appealing colours and could be

considered an artistic expression, but once you've mastered capturing appealing images; it's time to take

on a greater challenge. Can you tell a story through a photo shot in a minimalist style? Is it possible to

convey a scene or event using reduced subject matter, colours and shapes?

To achieve this, you may well need to incorporate some interest from light, people or movement, but next

time you're out shooting an event, once you've got all the shots you need, try summing up the event in one

shot using as little subject matter as possible, you might surprise yourself!

Step 10. Get Creative

So hopefully now you have a basic understanding of minimalist photography and have a few techniques

and tips to help you on your way with capturing your own minimalist images. As I said before, keep your

eye out for possible shots and remember to keep it simple, the more eye catching the better.

Don't be afraid to get creative. Minimalism can be a very subjective topic, so what you appreciate, others

may not, but get out there, see what you can find and get snapping!

Minimalist Photography in the Landscape

Posted by Christina Harman | Jul 25, 2019 |

Image by: brenkee

While there’s nothing wrong with an exciting, drama-filled shot, packed full of interesting elements –there’s

a lot to be said about taking a different approach sometimes –and looking to create images that are simpler

and more minimalist in nature.

In today’s fast-paced world, a back to basics approach can be calming –and an often-welcome approach.

Minimalist photography isn’t just about looking to create simplified images, though; it’s about creating

photos that are powerful –and ones that tell a story, devoid of everything that isn’t part of that narrative.

A minimalist approach can also give you a different perspective and a new approach to what would have

otherwise been a busy, cluttered image, or an over-photographed vantage point. It can help you see the

world in new ways, and give you fresh eyes to capture the scene differently.

Sometimes, the overwhelming sense to capture everything in one shot means that our images end up

looking tremendously busy, but this isn’t always the best approach. By looking to remove everything that’s

not necessary, you reduce the composition to its barest form, allowing beauty and meaning to shine

through.

If you’d like to create minimalist images, here’s a look at some tips that’ll help you to get started.

Image by: John Westrock

Consider Your Location

First up, you should consider your location. While you can create minimalist images anywhere. However,

there are some locations that can lend themselves beautifully to a minimalist approach.

• The Seaside

Areas by the coast will often offer a great place to try out minimalist shots. There are often stretches of

vastness that make it easy to showcase your main focal point, with no competing elements. The dramatic

skies and waves can help add to your image as well, without presenting a distraction.

• The Desert

The desert is another great location for minimalist photography. Vast and remote, it’s perfect for creating

minimalist –striking images; particularly ones that highlight its vastness and scale.

• Fields

Fields –billowing with grass or wheat can also be a great setting for minimalist photography. Consider using

a long exposure on a day where there’s a gentle breeze to softly blur the field, reducing details and making

it even more uncluttered.

Image by: Arno Smit

Consider Your Composition

What you lack in filler you should make up for in your composition. In fact, you could say that the lack of

detail in your shot should make you pay more attention to your composition. Here are a few areas you

should consider when composing minimalist images.

• Leave Plenty of Space

While you might be thinking that a minimalist image is nothing BUT space, you should still consider the

space you are leaving in your image. Consider your focal point and where you are placing it, and ensure

that there is plenty of room surrounding it. Remember to let it breathe.

• Choose a Strong Focal Point

Most images need a strong focal point, and minimalist shots are no different! Choosing a strong focal

point can help you to capture the image, so make it count. Look around for natural elements that really

catch your eye, ones that tell a story on their own –and could make a great focal point; lone trees, large

boulders, even abandoned houses can make for dramatic elements –and ideal focal points.

• Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is often used for a tighter image with more visual appeal, and when it comes to minimalist

photography, the technique can still be used to position the focal point to your image.

• Look for Light and Shadows

Light and shadow can both play a prominent role in amazing minimalist images. Try to keep an eye out for

that moment where the light’s shining through the clouds, drawing out color –or highlighting the texture of

the land. Likewise, shadows can make for some beautifully minimalist compositions too.

• Try a Long Exposure

Since you are working with minimal details in your image, trying out a long exposure could be a great way

to add in some interesting detail. Consider a long exposure to softly blur the clouds or the sea, helping to

further simplify your image. A long exposure will require you to work with your tripod so ensure that you

bring that along as well if you plan to try out long exposures.

Image by: Igor Kasalovic

Bring the Right Gear

When it comes to shooting minimalist landscapes, there isn’t a set rule on gear that you must bring,

however there are certain pieces that would make the process easier and give you a better shot at

success.

• Lens

While wide-angles are the lens of choice for many landscape photographers –and can work great for

minimalist photography, you might want to consider using a longer lens as well. A telephoto will allow you

to zoom in, making it easy for you to draw out those crucial elements that you’d like to focus on, while

helping to eliminate some of the distractions that would otherwise clutter your image.

• Tripod

Finally, you should bring along your tripod. Not only is it needed for long exposures, it can also help you to

get a clearer shot as well as help you focus and compose your image better.

Creating minimalist images is a great way to capture the beauty that surrounds you in a unique way. You

don’t need a lot to make a great image. As some of the best minimalist images prove, sometimes the

phrase “less is more,” really does ring true.

PORTFOLIO (To be submitted in November) Members present a folio of 4 images relating to the one topic or photographic style. The style of presentation is an individual choice but the print version should fit in the print steward's wooden case. Members can submit a print folio and/or edi folio. References

https://luminous-landscape.com/how-to-create-a-portfolio-of-your-work/

https://www.expertise.com/design-and-photography/essential-steps-to-an-art-or-photography-portfolio

Feedback from Adrian Smith - evaluator 2017, 2018, 2019