30 November, 2016

Bicycle Tyre Colorful Lines Background

Minimalism as Less Elements


A Minimalist Photo of Bicycle Tyre and Colorful Lines
Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Today, I am posting a Minimalist Photo of Tyre of a Bicycle with Colorful lines acting as a backdrop.


I had initially taken this photo with my Cellphone ( see: Mobile Minimalism ) but when I reviewed it on the screen, I thought this deserves to be on my Minimalism Blog. So, I took out My DSLR Camera to shoot this one more time. 

I shot this vertical so that I could use the colorful lines in the background in a creative way. Both the crop and the placement of the Bicycle Tyre on the bottom, is purposefully kept very tight. That kind of placement makes the viewer to take about one second to realize what the actual subject is. Once the viewer gives you his first second, he will surely spend more time on the photograph.

Classification and EXIF Data


The above photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category of Minimalist Photography.
You can see more examples of such photographs HERE

EXIF Data:-

  • ISO speed: ISO-200
  • Exposure time: 1/160 sec.
  • F-stop: f/8
  • Exposure bias: 0 step
Hope you enjoyed the Shot. 

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12 November, 2016

Spiral Stairs

Minimalism as Less Elements


A Minimalist Photo of Spiral Stairs going up towards the sky
Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Hello All !!

I am back with another Minimalist Photograph. I keep it easy these days and post Photographs only when I have some spare time. 

Back in 2014-15, I used to pressurize myself to do X number of blog posts / photographs a month. But, I realize that I am an artist and I should focus more on the purity of my expression and on the composition of the Photos that I click, rather than on "How to run a Blog". 

Focusing too much on the marketing aspect of the blog had started to affect my Photo Compositions. Therefore, I scaled back,  both on the number of posts and on Social Media marketing. 

PS: I do not publish all my photos here. I post Mobile Minimalism on my Instagram and some Canon DSLR(affiliate link) Photographs on my Facebook.  

A lot happened in the last few days. Donald Trump won the US elections, the Stock markets fell, Gold prices tumbled, there was a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in India etc etc.

Basically, a Minimalist like me ended up watching the Television for hours and got overloaded with News. 

Today,  to take a break from this, I decided to open my Photographs Folder, Edited a photo and started writing this blog post. A nice escape from all the noise.

Prior to writing this post, my Television was on. It is still on but No channel is displayed. I have pressed the TV/Av button to turn the screen Blank, Black and Silent. All that I can hear, is just the noise of the ceiling fan running. It is that peaceful, that calm. I am disconnected with the chaos of the world right now. Even my Mobile phone is a good two feet away from me for the last half an hour.

I am here, with you all and trust me it is blissful. 

"Less is more", "Silence is beautiful". are not just words. When you encounter such a state or feeling, you get immersed into it. You become a part of it.

By now it must be clear to you, that This post is my Escape from the "Noise of the world" today. And that is one of the major reasons I chose this "Spiral Stairs" photograph. It too, offers an escape.

Just look at how the stairs disappear to the top. Inviting you to climb up and Run away from the noise into open blue skies. To a place of "Peace and Calm", to a place of "Stillness".  

OK now, let back to the MINIMALIST Composition


The above photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category of Minimalist Photography.

As you can see above, the Spiral Stairs are positioned Diagonally and at the same time are also in the Center of the Frame. This is a way out from the regular rule of thirds. 


If the Spiral Stairs were not tilted and were vertically placed right in the center of the frame at 90 degrees, the composition would have looked odd. Centered compositions are less appealing to the human brain. 

Therefore, to avoid Center positioning, I tilted my Canon EOS 600D DSLR Camera(affiliate link) in my hand. 

The Tilt, made the top of the staircase bend towards the right, and the bottom of the Stairs fill the space on the left. This, kind of compensated for the rule of thirds and the subject is both, placed in the center and NOT.

Well, I hope some of you would accompany me to the staircase. 

Let's "Escape Together".

08 November, 2016

Bicycle Tyre versus the Rectangle

Minimalism as Simple Geometry


A Minimalist picture of the tyre of a bicycle along with a rectangular cut on a textured Indian wall.
Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Good Evening People. This is the second blog post I am doing today. If you happen to miss the first one, here is the link to it: Electric Meter Surrounded by Pink

The Minimalist Photo of the Bicycle Tyre and Rectangle that you see above, falls under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry category of Minimalism in Photography.


The Simple Geometric Shapes being:

a) The Circular Tyre of the bicycles
b) Lines within the bicycle tyre
c) The Rectangle on the right.

Negative space in such a photograph is best left on the TOP. I have cropped the Tyre of the Bicycle to about 3/4th, you can also try to keep it 1/4th if you want and show it just as a small curve. 

Similarly, the Rectangle, can be cut into a square by lateral movement.

I had posted a Black and White version of this Photograph earlier in Example No. 5 of the Article: Train your eyes for Minimalist Photography (click to view)

Do let me know which version of the Minimalist Photograph did you like?

Black and White or Colored? or Both?

Feedback keeps me going :) in fact keeps all of us going and improving.

Thank you for spending a few minutes here. See you next time.


More Bicycle Photographs:

Electric Meter Surrounded by Pink

Minimalism as Less Elements


Minimalist Photo of an Electricity Meter on a Pink Wall
Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Welcome to my New Blog-post

Because I am posting more of Colorful Minimalism lately, here is another Picture that depicts pure color i.e the color Pink.

To keep the image Minimalist, I have given the Pink Color a lot of space in the frame. Also note that following the Rules of Minimalism, I have carefully chosen this particular Electric Meter as it is placed on a Simple Geometric shape or A Square. 

That property, makes the picture even more Minimal, other than the Negative space and the Less Elements aspect.

Make sure you don't end up being too close to the subject in such shots. Distance is key here. Distance will make sure that the subject looks surrounded or engulfed by the Pink Color.


Another Detail that I would like to point out in the composition is, The Curved Blue Cable going to the right and its respective shadow. Without this cable in the frame, the photograph would have lacked the punch it needed to be here in the blog post. 

Hope you enjoyed the observations. 

For any questions or queries you can get in touch with me via the Contact page.

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05 November, 2016

Abstract Minimalism or Zeroism

Minimalism Type: Zeroism


An Abstract Minimalist Photo highlighting the Juxtaposition between Multi colored curves and Strong vertical straight lines.
Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Good Evening People. "I hope this POST finds you in the best of your health and spirit." If not, then you better be exercising. Ahh, did I just mention exercise?

Yes I did. I used to avoid exercising as I am a lazy fellow or lets say, I was. Lately, I have discovered Walking.

Although it is easy to do but at the same time it has huge benefits. Don't believe me? Try and google it for yourself. When I did, I was amazed to find out that by walking just 30 minutes a day, one can prevent so many diseases. Well "Simplicity works" you see !!!

And that's precisely the reason I mentioned this today. 

Being a Minimalist, I have now shifted my attention to the simple things in life that we tend to ignore,

just like how we cannot spot a Minimalist Subject, despite it being right in front of our eyes. It all requires practice and a sense of observation. But before you practice, you must begin somewhere right? The first step to it is "Intent" and trust me all you need to do is "Develop the Intent to observe simple things. The rest will follow."

That said, lets get back to the Minimalist Photograph


The above photo falls under the Minimalism Type: Zeroism, which I have explained in the Types of Minimalism post.


As mentioned there, the above photo does not reflect any real world object/subject at first glance or even at a closer look.

The Viewer is kept guessing. The eye keeps moving. Yet this photo is a Minimalist Photograph. You may want to call it Maximalist but I am very clear about it that it is Minimalist and I can explain.

The only subject here is the juxtaposition between colorful curves versus the vertical lines. That's it. This, in total is one element (or maybe you can call it two).

The subject is actually a frosted finish plastic house gate, lit by the suns rays. The photograph has been taken around 4 pm in the afternoon in the harsh sun.

You can also call the above photograph as an abstract photograph. But we, The Minimalists tend to call most pictures Minimal, till the time the elements are less and there is some bit of symmetry, geometry, logic or explanation in them.

If you cant explain a Minimalistic photograph with the Rules of Minimalism, only then one can call it pure abstract.

I hope that clears it out. If not, then wait for more posts under the Zeroism Label. OR else, if you plan to visit Jaipur- India sometime, we can meet and have a discussion on this over coffee.

See you next time. Take Care.

Happy Clicking !!!

03 November, 2016

Colored Version of The White Square and The Alphabet Z


Today I was shuffling through old Minimalist Pictures of mine in the computer. I stumbled upon one particular album from where I had edited and posted two Black and White Minimalist Photos on the blog.

The first photo being: White Square and the second being: The Alphabet Z

Last time, when I had edited these photographs, I was not able to edit them in color the way I wanted to, hence I had turned them into black and white. But, today I thought why not give it a re-try. Today, I finally was able to edit them in color and was pretty happy with the results. A lot of people like Black and White Photographs but some only like colored ones. 

With this post, I have made sure that I keep both of them happy :)

Long time ago, I had read a photography tip somewhere online and it said "Never delete a photograph ever, you may like it on a later date." I followed that advice  and it worked wonders.

Another reason why I chose color today could be, that subconsciously I must be preempting a good phase in life, therefore an inclination towards color. Lets see if that happens. 

Meanwhile, I am still recouping from energy that I lost from last month's Lunar Eclipse on September 16-17.

Coming back to the composition, I will not talk much about it as I had already done that in the Black and White versions.

You can read them here: a) White Square b) The Alphabet Z 


Colored Version of The White Square


A Minimalist Photo of a White Square on a Red Wall
Photo By © Prakash Ghai


 Colored Version of The Alphabet Z


A Minimalist Photo of ZigZag Lines or English Alphabet Z being created by Overlay of Pink walls
Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Leave a comment as to which version of the Two Photographs did you like?

Colored or Black and White?


Well, That's it Folks for today! 

Seasons Greetings to all.

Winters are here, take care of your health !!!