The Tidy Untidy Staircase

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimal Art Photograph of a Staircase at Akshay Patra NGO, Jaipur.

I went to Akshay Patra NGO with my relatives one day to visit their Kitchen and understand what they do. They actually provide subsidized meals to many poor people and they feed about 2,00,000 kids everyday across India.

The experience was a thrilling one. On my way, out I saw a huge garden near the exit gate.

From there, while I was waiting for my Cab to arrive, I spotted this beautiful staircase. The fresh Yellow paint got me, though the steps were not that clean and worn out.

This contrast, was the reason I titled the Photograph The Tidy Untidy Staircase.

The Photograph falls under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry category under Minimalist Photography.

This photo might look very simple to Compose but mind you, shooting staircases is not easy. You have plenty to angles to shoot them from and it gets difficult to decide how much to include or what to leave out and still keep it simple.

I took multiple shots, but I chose this one to post here, as this is shot a little Top-Down-ish and slightly from the side.

The shots that I took from the center and straight from the front, turned out to be very flat.

Note: Note how there are Two Stains/Spots in the Staircase on Steps No. 3 and 5 (starting from the left). It is easy to remove these spots during editing, but I have kept them.

There are two ways to look at these Spots.

a) It spoils the frame.
b) It enhances the Art in the frame.

Personally for me, I believe that these spots enhance the frame/ adds interest.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 24-105 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/8
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 64 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the The Tidy Untidy Staircase  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

The White Ball

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of a White Ball placed on a Sculpture at Jawahar Kala Kendra.

This area is near Exhibition Gallery II at JKK. The main subject here is the White Ball.

Yes, that was my starting point. You must get your starting point correct, as that is what decides your overall frame and composition.

I had a few options here.

a) To shoot this from the front, or

b) Slightly from the side or

c) Like how I did here, from an extreme side angle.

The reason I took such an extreme side angle, was to place the Square on the top or above the White Ball. I wanted to include some more geometry.

Also, the Part of the Window on the left, gives us nice bit of mystery(invokes imagination) by being Parts of the Whole Minimal, Plus, the Window portion is placed according to Rule of Thirds.

Further technical details or the Exif Data of the Photograph, is mentioned below.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/16
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-1000
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the The White Ball  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Three Windows Vs Pipe

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of Three Windows on a Wall with a Pipe on the side.

This shot was taken at MI Road Jaipur, in the lane opposite Indian Coffee House. This is a Lookup Minimal Shot in Black and White. I placed the Three Windows against a Plastic Water Pipe, leaving some empty space in between.

Each of the Three Windows are Square in shape and has 4 Smaller Squares in them. The Pipe on the right is a Straight Line.

Since this frame is overloaded with Basic Geometry, therefore I classified this Minimal Art Photograph under Minimalism as Simple Geometry and not as Less Elements.

The Technical Specifications of the Photograph as below.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/16
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-1000
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Three Windows Vs Pipe  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Two Empty Glasses

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of Two Empty Glass found at Statue Circle Jaipur near a Coffee Shop

These Two Empty Glasses, I spotted near the famous Coffee Shop at Statue Circle.  What immediately caught my eye was the way these glasses were positioned. One to the left and the other pointing to the right, aka Opposite Directions.

I placed these glasses in the middle of the frame but in the upper row (accordingly to rule of thirds 3X3 grid) and left Negative Space to the side of the glasses and also at the bottom of the frame, to compose this Minimalist Photograph.

If you carefully see, you can spot a White Spoon and a Black Straw in each of the glasses. My guess is that, people had ordered Cold Coffee with added Ice-cream.

They should have thrown these glasses in the dust bin though.

Anyways, the technical specifications of the photograph for consideration is mentioned below. Let me know if you could have captured this Minimalist Photograph differently or with different technical/camera settings.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 24-105 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/5
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-640
  
  
• Focal Length: 93 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Two Empty Glasses  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Lines Curves And Square

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimalist Photograph of Lines Curves and Square as seen on a Wall at Diggi Palace, Jaipur.

No matter how good a Minimalist Photograph looks in Color, it always looks better in Black and White. 

I had shot this in Color. The wall was White and the Black Lines that you see, were Blue in color. This is a wall from Diggi Palace Jaipur. 

While I was editing this Photograph, I was really not happy with the Colors and that was primarily due to the fact that the wall had a yellow tint over it, as this shot was taken during Golden Hour, 

Therefore, I turned this Photograph into Black and White to see how it looked without color. 

As I have said earlier, that once you convert a Photo into Black and White, majority of the times, you would want to leave it Black and White. And that is what happened today as well.

The Composition is a little weird probably, or another way you can call weird in art is, creative. 

I am looking up at the wall from a side angle, trying to fit in the Pattern created with Lines, Curves and Square, yet trying to leave some Negative Space and also trying to make the frame look less cluttered. 

I shot this at 7.1 Aperture 

What do you think? Should I have taken this shot at a different Aperture setting?

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 24-105 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/7.1
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/2000 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-320
  
  
• Focal Length: 105 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Lines Curves and Square  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Light Square Vs White Circle

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of a Square formed by Light versus a Small White Circle

What better gift can you get from nature as a Minimalist Photographer than a Square created by it. It just cannot get any better.

Getting back to basic forms aka Minimalism as Simple Geometry. A Square and a Circle both within a frame is such a treat for the eyes.

This shot was spotted behind the Indian Coffee House Smoking Area, at Jawahar Kala Kendra. There is an extra table there, where there is only self service.

Somewhere near that area I spotted this big Light Triangle created by Nature. Next to it was a White Circular Plate closing an electricity point.

The juxtaposition of shapes, was my immediate thought and therefore I began calculating the placement of these in my frame and at what height. I had the 50mm lens on my Camera, and what better angle to shoot this than at eye-level with such a lens.

The exposure had to be kept in mind as light and shadow combinations are tricky but I managed it OK. The technical details of the Photograph are below.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/7.1
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-800
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Light Square Vs White Circle  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Zig Zag Lines

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Colorful Minimal Art Photograph of Zig Zag Lines at Jawahar Kala Kendra, created with by Light and Shadow.

Some Lines here are going to the right, some to the left and if you carefully see, there is a T-Point on the Top right of the frame. 

I have kept the Photo colored this time, as the Color Palette popped quite nicely, mainly due to Light and Shadow. 

This photograph is all about how I have seen the subject and carved out a frame. It's pure perspective. 

And This is Simple Geometry at play. The Picture is full of Lines. The Technical specifications are mentioned below.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 600 D
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/4
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Zig Zag Lines  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Lamp In Reflection

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimalist Photograph of the Reflection of a Lamp in a puddle of Water, at Panch Batti MI Road, Jaipur

This shot was taken today with my Cellphone Samsung Galaxy S10. I also performed the editing within the phone itself.

I am pretty satisfied with the output of Samsung Galaxy S10 phone camera and therefore, I have started shooting and posting some of my Cellphone Minimalist shots here.

I have been shooting Street Lamps as subject for a long time now. I have shot this one located at Panch Batti many a times before.

At Panch Batti crossing, one can usually find water puddles post rain. I always go there to peep in side the  water puddles to look for reflections of various possible subject in it.

This particular Street Lamp is situated right at the center of Panch Batti crossing.

Today, its shot came out really well. So it made is here. I actually used the Telephoto Lens of the phone camera, went down on my knees and snapped this at a very low angle. ( you know these photos are flipped when posted).

I did use Snapseed Android App to edit this. I was primarily very happy with the Black and White tones and editing of my Samsung S10 this time.

I would not post the EXIF Data today, as I shot this in the Auto Mode.

Only thing is that as always, I shot this a bit underexposed using manual finger tapping on screen to adjust the same. 

Also, in the composition you can see how I have left negative space on the top and shown the subject i.e The Lamp in Reflection relatively small, as compared to the overall frame. 

Hope you enjoyed the Lamp in Reflection  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Orange Triangle

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of an Orange Triangle at a Construction site in Jaipur.

I was passing by Tonk Road, when I spotted this under construction site. They had recently broken the wall and put up metal barriers to hide the construction work. 

I waited for the moment to ponder what could I make of the scene in front of me. Then I thought, why not create a Triangle out of the Broken boundary wall. 

Sure, the Triangle was not as such available, rather I had to make it via my composition through its placement within the frame. Therefore, I placed the abstract Orange Triangle towards the extreme right corner. 

I also liked the fact that the scene had Vertical Lines i.e in the Metal Barrier, and that a Diagonal line, that of the Triangle, was going against it. 

Now let's also take a look at the Technical Specifications of the shot.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/11
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Orange Triangle  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Two Window Panes

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of Light Coming through Two Window Panes at a Staircase of a Shopping Mall.

This shot took a long time to get here. I mean I tried to edit this shot at 5 other occasions, but I only got the Black and White editing right, this time.

I had to make the staircase darker and some other parts dark as well, so that I could bring down the excess detail in the shot.

Sometimes, I do this during editing at other times I try to be careful on field. What happens is that, while you are on field, you tend to take a lot of shots and sometimes you get carried away in the flow. Here, I did end up capturing more details than required.

To Compose this, my starting point was the Two Window Panes. I placed them on the extreme right and top hand side of the frame and let rest of the subjects fit in.

I shot this in color and therefore that made it even more difficult to imagine this as a Minimal shot for starters. I have written about it before, but I will explain it again:-

"Sometimes you need to take the color off the photograph, to do away with the clutter caused as a result of it."

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/8
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/15 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-400
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Two Window Panes  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Related Posts:

• The Missing Window Pane
• Broken Window Pane

White Balloon Vs Windows

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of a White Balloon Vs the Windows at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

Here one can spot the Juxtaposition between two Geometrical Forms:

a) Circle ie the White Balloon Vs 

b) The Squares aka Windows.

The White Balloon that you see, was very far from the wall and it was continuously moving. So I had to take quite a few shots to place it properly in the frame. 

Also, you can see a little perspective distortion as I was multi layering the shot and moving quite a bit. I chose not edit the perspective/line distortion, as I generally don't do it and also because it looks somewhat OK to me.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/18
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-500
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the White Balloon Vs Windows  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Floor Triangle

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of a Right angled Light Triangle as seen on the floor at Jawahar Kala Kendra Jaipur, shot in black and white.

My love for Light Triangles(Simple Geometry) never seems to end. Here is another one and this time I named it Floor Triangle. It is fairly crazy to name Minimalist Photographs. If you have some tips on it, send me an email.

Now Let's look at the Minimalist Composition

The challenge after spotting the Light Triangle was to decide the angle/side/place from which to click it. I started by shooting it from the side, but then it wasn't looking that nice. So I decided, that why not this time make it a little flat and shoot it from the front. 

While placing the Light Triangle in the frame, I left on bar of space at the bottom and some Negative Space on the top. In editing I pulled down the highlights a bit and darkened the surrounding areas. 

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/4
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-320
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Floor Triangle  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

The Missing Couple

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Looking Up Black and White Minimalist "Photograph of Two Missing Pipes from a Pipe Arrangement.

What I found interesting here was, The Two Missing Pipes, that I call The Missing Couple. These were my starting point in the frame.

I placed them on the extreme right and on the top hand of the frame, following the Rule of Thirds.

Another highlight of the composition is, that we have One Horizontal Line in the Frame, and in contrast, Multiple Diagonal Lines.

Also, the holders of the Two Missing Pipes are actually Two Circles. So, a lot going on in terms of Simple Geometry here.

If you too want to learn to see everything in terms of Shape/Geometry, maybe have a look at this Article Train Your Eyes for Minimalist Photography 

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/11
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the The Missing Couple  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Line Window Shadow

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Picture of a Window with a Pipe on one side(line) and shadow on the other.

This is another shot that was taken at the 1st Floor at Jawahar Kala Kendra.

I spotted the Shadow and how it was partly clipping the Window. I moved to the left of the Window to give the frame some perspective. Moving to the side also helped me to include the Vertical Line aka the Pipe in the frame as another Simple Geometric element, other than the Window.

The Color Palette is also fairly Minimal here. Some Negative Space is also left at the bottom on purpose, which could have been easily cropped out during editing or left out during composition.

I must also disclose, that I really enjoy shooting Minimalist Photos using Light and Shadows. 

Have you taken some Light and Shadow shots too?

If yes, then do send me a link to your pictures/profile on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prakashghai/ 

I would love to have a look.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/16
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-800
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Line Window Shadow  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Bird Vs Simple Geometry

Minimalism as Less Elements

 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Looking-Up Minimalist Photograph of a Flying Bird Vs Simple Geometric Shapes and the Clouds.

 

This shot was taken today with my new Samsung Galaxy S10 Phone. The place is Raj Mandir Cinema Hall (Jaipur). 

 

This is a Look Up / Looking-up Minimalist Shot. 

My starting point of the frame was placing the Simple Geometric Shapes (Line & Rectangle) right. 

I first placed the Rectangle at the bottom of the frame and then aligned the Horizontal Line according to the Rule of Thirds. I then waited for a bird to fly in the frame. 

Usually at the side of Raj Mandir, one can find a lot of Pigeons and they keep flying around every now and then. The time that I was there, I was getting a bird to fly across my frame every 45 seconds or so. I got this one nicely with its wings spread wide enough. 

Not sharing the EXIF Data here, as this Picture has been taken through a cell phone. What I usually do while shooting with a phone is that I shoot a bit under exposed(manual setting) and I always use the 3x3 grid for alignment. 

 

This shot was taken in Color and later transformed into Black and White. I edited this on the laptop though.

Hope you enjoyed the Bird Vs Simple Geometry  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !