Steps Door Squares

 Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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To shoot a little different you have to think a little different. 

I took this shot right outside the Jharkhand Mahadev Temple, in Vaishali Nagar Jaipur. Although I do go to the same tourist places like everyone else, but I prefer to shoot in the vicinity and not at the spot itself. The area around the spot generally has the best possible Minimalist shots,  as there are people living around it. There is usually a small market nearby and shopkeepers paint their shops, windows and walls in attention grabbing colors in an attempt to grab customers attention. At least that's how it is in India.

About the Minimalist Composition

What caught my eye here was the staircase on the right which probably is cemented now and closed for use. To compliment the zigzag staircase, I used the squares available in the big closed door. I purposely took the shot from the side rather than from the front to get the right composition and balance in the frame.

And there you have it "Steps Door Squares" - a Minimalist photo full of Simple Geometry.

Terrace Railing

 Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Sometimes you need to point the camera up very high to find Minimalist Shots. 

The above photo is an example as to how to use the railing of a terrace of a high rise building, to compose a Minimalistic Frame. I turned the camera to the vertical position, in order to add a fresh perspective and to leave negative space under the railing. The negative space in turn enhanced focus on the lines. I then converted the photo into black and white, to do away with the color distraction in the photo. Black and White also aided in bringing an artistic feel. 

Refrigerator of the poor

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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This is Minimal of Less Elements because only a Single Element is used here as a subject i.e. the Earthen Clay Water Pots / Refrigerator of the Poor

These pots are generally used by traditional Indian households and villagers to store drinking water. They help in keeping the water at under the room temperature or even lower. They are very effective in the summer season and therefore are also known as the Refrigerator of the Poor,

The poor cannot afford expensive white goods or electric refrigerators. Sometimes, people wrap these earthen clay pots with a wet cloth and that further insulates the water from external heat and enhances  cooling. Yes, it works. I had them in my house too when I was a kid.

Now back to the Minimalistic Composition. 

When you encounter such a large arrangement of pots or anything, it is very difficult. Sp, First compose in the mind and then point the camera at the subject. I would suggest you to look through the camera continuously via the LDC Screen and move it in all possible directions. Stop where you think you've got the composition you were looking for, then switch over to the Viewfinder and Snap the photo.

Hope you enjoyed the shot. I wish you all a great day/evening. !

Husband and Wife

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of Spinning Tops on the street, used by children to play. 

This Minimalist Photograph was captured yesterday, post the Diwali festival. Me and my friend Manav went to the old walled city (Johari Bazaar) in Jaipur to take a few night shots. I was officially out for Street Photography and was walking past two middle aged men sitting on the side of the street selling this beautifully lit "Spinning Tops".

I could recall that in childhood I used to play with one of these. At First, I thought let me not take a shot but later I asked myself, Why not?

These are Circles and I therefore used them as a Minimalist subject under the Minimalist Photography category: "Minimalism as Simple Geometry".

I always try to click newer shots and not repeat my Minimalist Subjects to keep things fresh. The Tops were spinning very fast, and initially I tried to use a faster shutter speed to capture them but I was not able to create an Artsy Minimalist Shot.

Therefore,  I switched over to a shutter speed of about 1/30 roughly and an f stop of 1.8 on my 50mm prime lens, which resulted in these smoothed even out spirals or lets say Circles within Circles.

Since these Spinning Tops i.e Circles were in a pair and spinning in close proximity, so I thought why not keep the title of the post Husband and Wife. 

I have kept the subjects on Diagonal Ends and tried to leave Empty/Negative space between them this way.

Hope you enjoyed the shot. Stay tuned for newer Minimalist Photographs.

One way is to Bookmark my this blog or else just Subscribe to my Blog. 

Thank You.

Creased Plastic Cover

Minimalism as Less Elements  

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photo of a Creased plastic cover used by a stall at an exhibition at Jai Club Jaipur to block heat and sunlight.

I was roaming on the streets of MI Road, Jaipur hunting for Minimalist Photographs on another Sunday Afternoon. It has to be a Sunday, as I am mostly a Sunday Photographer who works six days a week at a retail store.

Soon, I decided to head over to the back-lanes and while I was crossing past Jai Club, I found a nice big red wall with a yellow patch on it. I took about 3-4 Minimalist shots of it but when I reviewed them on the LCD screen I was not happy, so I decided to look elsewhere.

This Creased Plastic Cover was located right above the wall that I had just given up upon. It was acting as a block for sunlight for one of the stalls participating at an exhibition being held at the club.

More on the Minimalist Composition

I made sure I placed the beginning point, (from where the plastic was starting to accumulate and crease) right at the top left corner. I connected its extending flow to the bottom right.

Yes, I was zoomed in and I had the Canon 55-250mm lens attached. Zoom aided me in doing away with the extra elements in the frame, bringing in the clear focus and attention on my subject which is much needed in Minimalist Photographs

• Similar Shot - Repeating Curves

Fill in the Blanks

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Albert Einstein had said "Imagination is more important than knowledge"

Here is a Minimalist Photo that will make you do exactly that, i.e Imagine. Such Images immediately involve the brain and it tries to make it guess the complete structure or to simply put it, Fill in the Blanks.

Well, we are just programmed in such a way. This theory of filling the gaps based on guess work and was once telecasted on the Discovery channel I remember. I always keep note of such interesting stuff and whenever I get a chance I just pounce on it.

More on the Minimalistic Composition

To shoot this, you don't have to work much for the composition, rather just leave regular negative space. The majority of the hard work here involves of being extremely observant. You never know where and when you would spot such a subject. I was on a photo-walk with my friends to Jantar Matar Jaipur, and we had planned to clicked architecture that day. I spotted this right after our brief huddle. In editing I did try to pop the dull yellow wall and I guess it looks decent now. 

10 Squares

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Shapes communicate well with the sub-conscious mind especially when it comes to Simple Geometry. I personally love Squares, All four sides of a square are well measured and equal, psychologically hinting at a perfectly planned and a well crafted Life. That could be my reason as to why I love Squares.

What is the Simple Geometry shape that you love? and Why? Leave your answer in the comments. That would be interesting to know.

Many observers would see this as 9 squares, but a hardcore Minimalist has the ability to zoom out and consider the window itself as 1 big Square having 9 squares in repetition within it, making a total of 10 Squares.

Perspective is what matters the most in Minimalism and a change of perspective can do wonders for your photography, not only Minimalist Photography but other compositions/photography genres as well.

Other Minimalist Photos that also contain a Square:

- Circle Square Waves

- Lines Vs Square

- Right Angled Triangle Vs The Square

- White Square

Engulfed by the Blue Sky

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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This big white window is right next to the exit of Indian Coffee House cafeteria at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur. While I was heading out I spotted this and the shadow of the trees falling on it caught my attention. I immediately realized that I had a great opportunity for creating a Minimalist Frame.

Initially, I tried composing from the front but that was too mundane. Therefore, I moved to the side and turned my camera vertical. I kept moving until I could find something worthwhile to add to the frame.

As soon as I found the red wall "Engulfed by the Blue Sky", I stopped, composed and then recomposed. Finally after some 4-5 shots, I got the frame the way I wanted.

Synchronized Geometry

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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I have titled this as Synchronized Geometry because, these Zig Zag walls that you see are not merely walls, they are in fact concrete side railings of an actual staircase located at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

Generally, such railings are like flat diagonal lines but this Zig Zag pattern is created by the differential placement of stone slabs.

More on the Minimalistic Composition

The photo falls under the Minimalism Category: Minimalism as Simple Geometry. Simple geometry is quite evident here. I have clicked the photo from the side to show contrast between two similar patterns or Zigzags. The bigger or the longer side rail has more repetitions, whereas the smaller or the nearer one has less. Another reason I shot this from the side was to show a bit of depth in the frame and to keep the angle unique.

Another Shot of the same subject from a different angle:

• Side Rail Zig Zag Pattern

Tea Stall

Minimalism as Few Distinctive Colors 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of Colorful fabrics used by a Tea seller to protect and cover his Tea Stall/ kiosk from heat.

I was returning home on a Sunday afternoon after capturing some nice Minimalist Photographs at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur. On my way back I stopped at the road side "Tea Stall" to have a cup of Indian Chai, or Tea.

It was about 12.30 pm in the afternoon and it was really very hot and sunny. I had the camera in my lap still switched on and I was looking at the streets hunting for a street shot for some street photography, for a change. Something prompted me to look-up and when I did, I spotted this colorful mix of cloth and plastic. I knew this was an opportunity to capture a Minimalist Photograph.

This was being used as a temporary cover/shed by the Tea Seller by the street, to protect his customers and his kiosk from the heat of the Sun or Rain. The customers could now sit in a comforting way and enjoy Tea at his Tea Stall.

I captured this shot sitting on the chair, which is kinda funny isn't it? Sometimes I get really lazy.

I also made sure that I gave the brighter color i.e yellow, more space in the frame and arranged the pattern carefully in the frame using onscreen grid lines.

This photo falls under the Minimalist Photography Category: Minimalism as Few Distinctive Colors.

Another Minimalist Shot taken at the same location: Hide and Seek

White Square

Minimalism as Simple Geometry 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of a White square on a grainy Black Wall.

View: Colored Version

The walls were in fact red in color as this was shot at Jawahar Kala Kendra, but capturing red as the actual red you saw with naked eyes via your DSLR's aint that easy, unless you work with high quality prime lenses to shoot from.

Or maybe the case is that I am jinxed to shoot Red. (maybe not)

I mostly capture Minimalist Photographs with a multipurpose zoom lens as of now i.e. the Canon 55-250 mm. Sometimes it gives me great sharpness and color while I am not zoomed-in much and at other times, the results are not so great. But, I never delete those not so great shots as I kind of recycle them.

Well, here is the trick. The shots in which you cannot fix the color even in editing, simply convert them to Black and White. I follow this rule religiously, but keep in mind that you can only rescue a Photograph if it is well composed to begin with.

Some people also crop out Minimalist Frames out of the Whole image instead of capturing the exact same Photograph on the spot. I generally don't do this. At least that's not the intent I stand with the Camera in my hand in front of Photography subjects.

More on the Minimalistic Composition

I placed the White Square in the bottom of the frame, in order to follow the Rule of Thirds. The lines on the sides and above the White Square, balances the overall frame.

Other Minimalist Photos that also contain a Square:

- Circle Square Waves

- Lines Vs Square

- Right Angled Triangle Vs The Square

- 10 Squares

Cloud Vs the Lamp

 Minimalism as Less Elements 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Here, I have shown the juxtaposition between two shapes/forms 

a) the Abstract Cloud, having no particular form or shape, Versus 
b) The Curve of the Lamp, which has a clearly defined form/shape. 

As you can see I have left negative space on the left, to make the interaction between the two forms/shapes stand out. It was a very tricky shot as and I had to maneuver a lot. I moved quite a bit to my left, to first get the cloud right behind the lamp visually. The cloud  was way above the lamp and there was a huge gap between them. To correct that, I moved near the lamp by walking towards it, and went down on my knees to bring the cloud down. The final adjustment was positioning the lamp right in the center of the moving cloud. 

The Minimalism Classification:

Minimalism Type: Minimalism as Less Elements

The Elements: Lamp, Cloud, Small Bird

Hope you enjoyed the photo and the behind the scenes action. Do leave your feedback below. Thank you. 

Similar Minimalist Shot:

 

- The Cloud Split

Kindergarten School

Minimalism as Less Elements

Kindergarten Schools are probably the best subject for a Minimalist as you have all those multicolored walls and simple geometry to play with. I was out with my Camera on the streets of Jaipur, Bani Park on a very sunny and warm afternoon and I was very lucky to spot this small little school as I go to random places hunting for subjects. Initially I got carried away by the multicolored walls but I always prefer to keep things simple, so I composed the shot using only the wavy roof and its shadow falling on the colored wall.

Photo By © Prakash Ghai - Buy Now

Golden Glow

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Shot during the Golden Hour of photography i.e one hour before Sunset. The slanting rays of the evening Sun illuminated a portion of the shopping complex structure beautifully resulting in the Golden Glow and hence it caught my attention. Yes, it was my Canon 55-250 mm zoom lens again. When it comes to Minimalist Photography "Zoom is your best friend", of course acquaintances i.e other lenses help as well, Any lens is suitable to shoot minimal shots, I personally prefer the ones with zoom.

PS: Golden hour of Photography is both a) one hour after sunrise and b) one hour before sunset.

Photo By © Prakash Ghai - Buy Now

Blue Lines

Minimalism as in Repeating Shapes

Zoom lenses are effective to shoot such kind of minimal as you can zoom in and capture beautiful architecture and the patterns in it. Repetition looks very simple to shoot but hard to find and compose, try heading to a busy street with lots of shopping complexes and ultra modern buildings, they are the ideal place to be. Coming back to the composition whats special is that not only does the horizontal blue lines repeat themselves but the yellow ones that cross them vertically also do. Because zoom lenses in general don't retain a lot of color and contrasts you will have to additionally add them using a basic photo editing software.

Photo by © Prakash Ghai - Buy Now

Circle Square Waves

Minimalism as Simple Geometry 

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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Looking for geometry on the walls is one of the best ways to shoot Minimal, but make sure your are out there in the Sun. Shoot between 4-6 pm and you will find the best of shadows and the games they play. As you can see here I have left negative space on the right and placed my subject in the top left corner. I could have clipped or evened out the Waves using more height for the shot or through a software but those are kept on purpose as that repetition adds beautifully to the simple geometric shapes here i.e the Circle and the Square.

and there you have it. A Minimalist photo including Circle Square Waves !

Other Minimalist Photos that also contain a Square:

- Lines Vs Square

- Right Angled Triangle Vs The Square

- 10 Squares

- White Square

Parallel Universe

Minimalism as Low Detail

I once had a discussion for about half an hour with one of my good friends Gigi Starlings on Facebook about shadows and reflections. I showed her this photograph and she in return showed me a few of hers, primarily containing shadows. The next thing she mentioned was, that this might be the parallel universe we talk about and I was in agreement instantly. Shadows and reflections could be the other universe that co-exists with us but we fail to give it due importance. But I took it a little further and asked her what if, this is not the reality we live in and we infact ourselves are a mere reflection of some other universe (reality). Possible? Well, I would love to know what you all think of it. Coming back to the shot, This photo falls under the category Minimalism as  Low Detail which is very evident from the shot. I was walking around Ganpati Plaza, Jaipur (shopping complex) looking for some shots of windows and other geometric structures. I went there post a heavy shower and I was lucky enough to find this puddle of water right in front of me on my way back. Repeating shapes (yellow building) and the contrasting blue and yellows were too tempting to miss. Composing this shot was a challenge. I stepped backwards, bent my knees and took about 4 shots from various angles. I finally got the composition right. You would not get a proper or a size-able reflection of your subject if you don't shoot it from the right angle. Being on your knees is the best way to shoot such subjects.
 

Photo by © Prakash Ghai - Buy Now

Challenging Circumstances

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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A Colorful Minimalist Photograph of an isolated green plant against a red wall at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

Despite Challenging Circumstances, represented here by the big Red wall, the plant or life is still able to grow and prosper.

That is signified by the Green color of the plant hinting at prosperity. If you notice carefully I have used two Rules of Photography here,
a) rule of thirds and
b) negative space

The former is the most important rule of photography and the latter is one of the most important rules of Minimalist photography. Photos with such a combination of rules are generally successful in impressing the viewer. Please Note: when using negative space it is always preferable to leave it either on the right hand side of the frame or on top and your subject should never be dead center.

More Minimalist Photos with Red as a Primary Color:

- Love Story

- Low Hanging Twig of a Plant Against a Red Wall

- Open Door and Water Outlet on a Red Wall