A New Relationship

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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When a new person enters your life and you realize that he/she could be that one person you were waiting for. You tend to make more room in your heart for that person. But, it is to be seen over time as to how much space that person actually occupies.

The leaves of the plant just entering the frame is that special person, with whom you begin A New Relationship. The shadow of the leaves is your estimation of the initial space that person may occupy in your heart, and the extra space or negative space hints at the scope of that relationship. To shoot this, I moved out one afternoon on my bike at around 4 pm. The temperature was 42 degrees Celsius. This is pretty normal for North India, as May and June are peak summer months. I did go out in such heat on purpose as, I get a lot of light and shadow combination shots this time, and people are generally in their houses sleeping, so you can shoot with no one getting offended. This was shot zoomed in with a 55-250 mm lens, with sweat flowing down to my neck. Don't get confused by the shadow while applying the rule of thirds. Always apply it on the main (real) subject and let the shadow take its place. If the shadow is getting cropped, rearrange the shot. I shot for about an hour and to avoid getting ill with the heat I drank not one but two soft drinks. I generally avoid aerated beverages but the shop where I had stopped did not have any mineral water with them and I had no energy left to go find it at another shop.

Well, Minimalism calls for sacrifices and I did my bit.

The Only One

Minimalism as in Repeating Shapes

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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Some people are so different and unique that others just cannot understand them. Others think that he is the odd one out. While on the other hand, that unique person feels that he is being over powered and cornered for no valid reason. Life of such a person is usually very tough and therefore the sole purpose of his life becomes finding that one right person who would understand him. If he does not find such a person, life becomes a living hell for him.

I have used a water bottle to represent such a person who is stuck amongst people who never understood him or the bricks in repetition. The composition is relatively simple. The photo falls under Minimalism as Repeating shapes category. The only thing here is "not to center" the water bottle. I placed it on the right using the rule of thirds. The position of the bottle is a little near the center line of the 3x3 grid but you can place it even on top right or at bottom right of the grid.

Walls All Around Her

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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She loved, loved so truly like no other ever could. It was limitless. He betrayed her. She was so shattered and devastated that she decided not to ever love again. She built Walls all Around Her to protect herself but the walls she built were so big that she did not leave room for anyone to ever get in. Once bitten twice shy, and therefore she over-did it. She could not help it. She continues to live a lonely life. Yes, that's her story.

Composition

The photo falls under the Minimalist Photography Category: Minimalism as Less Elements. The photo contains only two elements:

a) Orange Wall and
b) The Green Window

It was very tempting to shoot the entire window, but to make it represent a person, I decided to gave it eyes, using the two black rectangles. The orange wall was dull and tricky to edit. I had to increase the vibrancy quite a bit.

Love Arranged By Nature

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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They met by accident in a lonesome by lane of a busy street. The moment he saw her, he knew she was very fragile and required immense care. He too was fragile as his relationships in the past had not worked out. They met again but very little words were exchanged between them. There was a lot of eye contact. Their souls had identified each other by now and they both felt a connection. The more they spoke to each other over the next few days and months the more they got closer and found how similar they were in so many ways. Their choice of clothes, music, food, view on life, on art were just the same. They were both surprised to learn it. They realized that their bond was really strong and there was no need to say those magical three words "I love you", remaining silent was sufficient.

They could read and communicate with each other using their minds. All was going good but then there was a problem. A very big problem. The problem was, how could all be pre-decided and fixed beforehand? How could it be possible that they both found exactly the kind of person they were looking for, for over a decade? It was unbelievable for both. And so, doubts crept in. The relationship therefore was still hidden from others and not made public, which is depicted here by the "Shadow" of two birds, rather than their real word image. Their Love was arranged by Nature and therefore, they wanted to wait for more signs, more time in the relationship to be really sure before making a public announcement of their love.

Composition

In the shot below, I used my usual Canon 55-250mm lens and did some contrast and color adjustment in an editing software. At first, I was shooting the real world image of the birds but then to their left, I spotted their shadow being cast and therefore I changed my shot.

Of course the rule of thirds has been followed here by placing a) The minimal sky on he top and b) the bird on extreme top right. I could have avoided the black bar below but again it adds to the image. It kind of balances the vast space yellow covers in the frame and compliments the little blue sky by contrasting to it. And there you have it a Minimalist Photo of two birds in love.