Elephant's Trunk

Minimalism as Parts of the Whole

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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Another Shot that I clicked on the Photowalk that was held at Amber Fort on 19th August 2018 World Photography Day.

Amber fort is an uphill climb, both to visit the Fort and the Temple at the Top Area.

These Elephants are usually hired by foreign tourist to go up the Fort. 

This Elephant that I clicked had just come downstairs after his ride.

He was resting along with a few of his co-worker friends. 

Minimalism as Parts of the Whole i.e Shooting just the Elephant's Trunk and a bit of his face was the best Minimalist Photo I could think of. 

The EXIF Data for the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Maker: Canon
  
  
• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Macro L Series Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/13
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-2000
  
  
• Exposure bias: 0 step
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Flash mode: No flash
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  
• White Balance: Auto

Hope you enjoyed the Elephant's Trunk Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day. !

Side Rail and Arc

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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I love shooting Staircases and Time and again I think of creating new frames out of it. 

This Side Rail And Arc Minimalist Photograph is a result of one such Experiment. 

Also, I have a thing for Staircase Side-rails but I haven't shot many of them yet.

So I thought, It would be a good idea to try and shoot them. 

What I initially saw was just the Side-Rail to be a Line or a Simple Geometric element.

The frame would have been just too vanilla if I had just shot just that.

So, I decided to include the ARC right next to where the Staircase ended.

This also helped me show the Juxtaposition between the geometric shapes, of one being just a straight line and the other one being a curved one.

This staircase is one amongst the many at Amer Fort, Jaipur.

If you happen to visit Jaipur anytime soon, make sure you visit this place. 

Its Huge and very good especially for Photography :)

Have a Great Weekend*.

*Oh Wait ! Today is only Thursday. 

Well, I Minimalized the Week - lol

Old Staircase at Amber Fort, Jaipur

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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What we have here is a Staircase, a Side Rail and a Small Rusty Metal Door on the Bottom Right.

But, I titled Old Staircase at Amber Fort, Jaipur it to keep it simple :)

Although the Photograph falls under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry Category, there is also the Parts of the Whole Minimalism visible here in a way. 

I say so because, whats visible is a part of each element, namely the Side Rail, Staircase and The Rusty Metal Door.

The Wall Texture and Decay lifts the Artistic Appeal of the shot. 

I found this setting at the very famous Amber Fort, Jaipur. I took many shots that day and this one comes from one of my old folders. This image is about 2 years old. 

Its interesting, that at that point of time i.e 2 years back, the level of my enthusiasm was pretty high and I used to go to far-off places to shoot. 

Revisiting old photos also help you to see as to how you have evolved as a photographer. 

I guess my editing style has improved now and also the range of the shots that I take. 

With those thoughts, let me close this post.

I have my Hot Tea at my side table that I need to finish and pop a multi-vitamin tablet and head straight to work.

See you all

Have a great day !

Grainy Minimalism Arcs within Arcs

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photo of Arcs within Arcs shot at Amber Fort, Jaipur

With this Grainy Minimalist Photo I want to make a point. But first, let me Ask you a Question.

Tell me, Why any Artist who paints or draws anything is acceptable art?

Whereas, If a Photographer experiments too much and crosses certain technical boundaries, then his work becomes unacceptable and it is quickly disregarded by people? 

Why the bias?  Isn't Photography Art too? Isn't the Man/Woman behind the camera, an artist as well?

An artist can doodle, make a collage, scribble, produce abstract artworks or do what ever he or she likes, But a Photographer has to follow certain rules or else people start saying things like "This is not Photography."

Most leading magazines, Photography competitions, stock photography websites, mostly do not accept photos that have grain, blur and other technical errors in them, whether on purpose or not on purpose. 

My question is, why not? 

Sometimes with grains and blur the photos look brilliant but since they do not fall under the technical bracket of "right photography", either such photos get mostly rejected by the Top Photographers/Editors etc. or the photographer himself deletes them, and later never produce newer ones.

What most Top Magazine Editors/Stock Photography site/Photography Jury/Mentors always select and promote is the same old Landscape pictures that include waterfalls, sunsets etc. 

HOW BORING is that? where is the variety? There isn't any.

(Note: In the art fraternity grainy and blurry photos are appreciated to some extent but it still needs a wider audience. On the other hand, in commercial photography, it is almost a complete NO.)

So, The Million Dollar Question is:

"Why is Photography mostly judged on the technical aspects rather than the artistic aspects?"

For example, In photography it is generally recommended that one should almost never take a shot above the ISO setting range of 400-800 in a Crop Sensor camera. If there is low light and if you don't have an expensive camera that gives less grain on high ISO setting, then you lose the shot. Photographers miss many great compositions because of this. They know even if they take the shot at a high ISO setting to capture the composition, everyone's first reaction would be "No, the ISO is too high. so many grains in the photo, forget about the composition, the shot is over."

Then to follow up, they end up recommending you a high priced full-frame camera which might eat up an entire year of your savings.

My problem is with their reaction. Their ideal reaction should be "Wow, what a lovely composition. Forget about the grains. Composition rules, you have a great vision. Well done."

But, this never happens. So what I have personally noticed is that the photographers who can afford the expensive cameras, always tend to suppress the creative photographers who can compose good shots but do not have the resources to upgrade to better cameras. The de-motivation eventually pushes the creative photographer out and that is the reason we keep seeing sunset, sunrises, mountains, waterfall photos over and over and over again.

Anyways, this could go on and on but by now, I am sure you understood the point I wanted to make. 

Back to the Minimalist Photograph 

The shot falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category of Minimalist Photography. The only subject here is the White Arcs in Repetition. 

The grains add the artistic touch to the photo and that is the highlight of the shot. Without the grains, the photo loses most of its appeal. I had this shot in my PC for over 1 and a half years, but I never posted it on my website/blog because it had grains, I too was not sure of it initially. I kept the shot saved because I believed the composition was decent. Now, when I looked at it today, I felt like posting this and making a point.  

To concluded I would say "Art is art, the medium can be anything and people should value the photographers expression and vision."

Grains are Good - Happy Clicking !

Note: If you have captured some Grainy Minimalist Photographs or any grainy Photographs, post them in the comments section. IF you can't post them maybe share a link or two. I would be happy to take a look at your creativity. 

Must Read:

• Types of Minimalism
  
  
• What is Minimalist Photography?
  
  
• 5 Minimalist Photos that Depict Less is More
  
  
• Exhibitions

Blue Saree

Minimalism as Parts of the Whole

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai
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Minimalist Photography of a Woman in Blue Saree Against a Yellow Wall at Amber Fort Jaipur

I was trying to shoot this nice textured yellow wall, but then I noticed this woman sitting right next to it ...in a striking "Blue Saree"

I loved the contrast of yellow and blue so I decided to make a Minimalist Shot of it. At first I was confused as I had never shot a Minimal before using such a large image of a person, rather I generally shoot objects. This is where the domain knowledge of Minimalism helped me.

I quickly realized I could click only a part of the woman, thereby eliminating the human structure and fit it under the Minimalism as parts of the whole category of Minimalism Photography. Composition was tricky to begin with but once I knew that I only have to clip the woman, I got it right in three shots.

Must Read:

• Types of Minimalism
  
  
• What is Minimalist Photography?
  
  
• 5 Minimalist Photos that Depict Less is More
  
  
• Exhibitions