Conditional Love

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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What is Love? I am "Not" too sure about that, but are you? People talk of love as a feeling which they get into unknowingly. It starts-off as an initial attraction and later turns into extreme concern and care for that special person. When in love, you do not tend to acquire or gain something from the other person, rather you become selfless and try to be as giving as possible. And of course, that person hardly ever leaves your mind, whether in sleep or when you are awake, in happiness or in sadness. OK, but with all of this the real question is,

Is Love really love? and well especially now-a-days? People see and learn all of this from movies and of course through real-life experiences. As soon as something similar happens with them, they jump right to the conclusion that it is "Love". Well, they don't just stop there, rather they move a step further and claim that it is "TRUE Love". How true are their claims can only be found out during testing times. In most cases they take a step backwards and re-classify their feelings as mere "Infatuation". Why? because their loved one is in trouble, or is in testing times, in bad circumstances. Rather than supporting his/her partner they just turn away from them in search of someone else who is free of all the negativity and full of optimism, carries a smile, etc etc. No one wants to accept the reality that there are ups and downs in everyone's life, and measuring, loving and judging people based on their circumstances, is being a very shallow individual yourself. I wanted to show the same scenario with the picture above where two yellow circles or two people were in a close relationship to begin with. Buy as soon as one of them ie the circle on the right started facing testing times (depicted by the triangle created by the dark shadow or problems.), the other one distanced himself from him. There are similar cases in real life and in most cases "Conditional Love" or rather "No Love At All", is being misunderstood for "True Love". In the past, I have had many friends face similar issues in their relationships. What is your take on it? Why is it that people are so shallow now-a-days? Some are even afraid to fall in love. Share your thoughts below. I would be happy to read your insights.

Composition

The shot falls under Minimalism as Simple Geometry category. I tried to use negative space a little differently this time, I placed it between the two circles. Getting the Triangle created by the shadow right, was a little tricky, as a) I was in the middle of a busy street loaded with traffic and b) Shadows change very very fast and If I had taken more time to shoot, the shadow might have engulfed the entire circle and that kind of a shot would have had less visual appeal. 

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.

Surreal Lines

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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I call these Surreal Lines as in reality, they do not exist. They are formed by the game of light and shadows, that nature plays and I love capturing it. I was at the "Albert Hall Museum Jaipur" and when I spotted these lines playing Hide and Seek, I zoomed in all the way to capture this intriguing Minimalist Photo. As a thumb-rule make all vertical lines in a composition appear 90 degrees or as close as possible to 90 degrees. Also note that any horizontal lines may or maybe not be 180 degrees.
These rules you would not find anywhere but here. They just make Minimalist Photos appear attractive. I chose to classify this image under Minimalism as Less Elements because there is only one element here which acts as the primary and lone subject i.e the Various Lines.