Railing Shadow

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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What we have here is a Black and White Minimalist Photograph of the Shadow of a Metal Railing at Jantar Mantar Jaipur, India, shot via Canon 6D Mark II Camera.

This is a special photograph for me as I love long shadows and this one I took by getting downstairs the main Sun Dial at Jantar Mantar. 

I wanted to show the Shadow of the Bar with a Spherical shape on the top left, falling on the right side of the Wall. 

To add more interest into the photo, I also included the Black area on the top right i.e the Zig Zag kind of shape. 

I could have otherwise cropped it or taken the shot more from my right hand side a few minutes earlier to keep it clean...

Black and White was a Choice while shooting and I had my camera in the Monochrome mode.

Would love to hear your Feedback on the choice of my Subject, the Elements and the Composition. 

Thank you

Have a Great Day !

6 Arcs

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai 
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Apart from Jawahar Kala Kendra, that I keep mentioning in my posts, this place "Jantar Mantar" is my second favorite in Jaipur. The reason is simple. The place is full of colorful, geometric astronomical instruments. The primary colors that one would find there are, yellow, red, brown and whites. That makes for a really nice color palette. And of course if you choose to add the blue sky, like how I did above, then its even better. Well, as you can see, I have categorized this picture under "Minimalism as in Repeating Shapes", rather than "Minimalism as Less Elements". The reason is, that the 6 arcs in repetition (part of the yellow wall) is my primary subject in the photo and everything else around it has been used to redirect the viewers eye to it. For examples, the curve coming in from the right, points nicely to it. Also, the two rectangular frames around the arcs, gives them core attention. There are these other types of "Minimalism as in Repeating Shapes" where the shapes in repetition, encompass the entire frame and thereby does away with the distracting elements. Thus, reflecting core simplicity. One such example on it from one of my previous posts is "Surrounded by Greed". 

So, those shots are also valid along with these kind of "Newer" Minimal of Repetition shots. Of course these are more interesting. But mind you, a very very clear redirection of the viewers eyes to the core subject is required, so you have to hit the bulls eye every-time. Such compositions, I call advanced Minimalist Visual Art. Because, here you try and challenge the definition and types of minimalism, by bending the rules, by being more creative and explorative. And at the same time, you still managed to stay within the rules. That is this thing about art. We have to keep experimenting, otherwise we shall always remain within a shell.

Parallel Rectangles

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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A colorful lookup Minimalist Photo comprising of parallel rectangles, yellow walls and blue sky.

This Minimalist Photograph was captured at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur. I wanted to show the contrasting colors yellow and blue here, along with simple geometrical shapes i.e. Lines and the two Rectangles.

I placed one rectangle on the top left (rule of thirds quadrant) and one on the bottom right (rule of thirds quadrant). So the result was two vertical parallel rectangles being joined by one line entering the frame from the left running over to the rectangle on the right. Editing the blue sky took me a lot of time. Showing sky the way it looked to the naked eye or showing the blue as blue, takes a lot, believe it.

It is basically a look-up Minimalist shot, where you basic look up towards the sky and try and capture something. It takes a bit of practice capturing Minimalist Photographs the look-up way. At first, you would feel as if you are not able to spot anything worthwhile. The trick is to keep hitting the shutter button and reviewing what you clicked. This will give you a fair idea as to what to click and what to let go.

Hope you enjoyed the Photo. Stay tuned for more.

Misread by People

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photo of a Green bench against a yellow wall at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur.

"Sometimes you feel that you've been "Misread" by a lot of people and you need some time on your own alone in the park, sitting on the bench reflecting back on life." In this composition I have applied two rule of thirds. One at the bottom and one on the left. Therefore there is plenty of negative space both above the bench and also to the right, to add that classic minimalist feel.

A green bench against a large yellow wall is an Ideal setting. To being with, what made me attracted towards the bench, was the subtle light and shadow differential on the wall. It was just too beautiful to look at. Maybe you could also find this, if you visit Jantar Mantar, Jaipur.