Shadow Leaves

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai

Buy Now

A Black and White Minimalist Photograph of Shadow of Leaves falling a Textured Indian Wall.

"When nature is busy making art, all you can do is be stunned and watch."

This is exactly what happened here, but luckily I had my camera along with me for this was shot in my house. This wall belongs to my neighbor. It was peak afternoon and I had just came out for a walk in the garden after having lunch.

I have the habit of constantly scanning my surroundings for subjects, can't help it, I am a Photographer after all. While I stepped down in the passage from my garden, I spotted this beautiful Shadow of Leaves. Trust me, they were such a treat to watch. I instantly rushed inside to grab my camera for shadows change very quickly.

I had to compose this right and also in a unique way. So I decided to shoot the subject top-down and I started by placing a diagonal line of the wall in the center and then let the Shadow of the Leaves fall in the frame as they wished.

I was close, but still I had to make sure I wasn't way too close. Also, this photo is a good example that using negative space in minimalist photography in such a tight frame is not easy.

The worn out textured wall helped in setting a unique mood as well.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 600 D
  
  
• Lens: Canon 50 mm Prime Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/11
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-200
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Pattern
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Shadow Leaves black and white Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Green Leaves And Negative Space

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

A Colorful Minimalist Photograph of Green Leaves on a Colorful Backdrop, with Negative Space on the Side.

This shot, just like the Last one "Colorful Stripes" was taken at Kalaneri Art Gallery. 

After a long time, I have captured some Nature Minimalism. 

The Negative Space that I left on the Side, is very Classic of a Core Minimalist Photograph. (though its not necessary that one uses Negative Space in every shot)

What's different this time around, is that the Negative Space has some well aligned geometrically placed colors. That Pops the Shot out !

I was lucky to find a Green Color Strip along with the Green Leaves, and therefore, the overall Color Palette is also kept fairly Minimal.

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/9
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/ 160 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-1000
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Green Leaves and Negative Space Minimalist Photograph.

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

11 Leaflets

Minimalism as in Small Objects

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

A Minimalist Photograph of a Fallen Leaf with 11 Leaflets at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

As you can see, the size of the Leaf is pretty small as compared to the rest of the space in the Photograph, therefore I have categorized this Minimalist Photograph under the Minimalism as in Small Objects category of Minimalism.

The Composition is fairly simple. I just placed the Fallen Leaf with 11 Leaflets in the frame according to the Rule of Thirds.

Then, I left lots of Empty/Negative Space on the left and also at the bottom of the frame, to redirect attention back to the Subject.

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: 1/200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-320
  
  
• Exposure bias: 0 step
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Flash mode: No flash
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  
• White Balance: Manual

Hope you enjoyed the 11 Leaflets Minimalist Photograph.

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

The Missing Leaves

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

My posting schedule seems to be as random as the shape of the clouds in the sky. I believe those who have subscribed to my blog posts via e-mail must be getting my mails when they don't expect and vice-versa. 

Never mind, since I am yet not full-time into photography, my posting schedule is going to be the same. 

So you must be wondering what made me post today, If you were not wondering, still no problem I'd still tell you ;)

I open my laptop less often these days. I just came here today to randomly check my mails and some other social profiles. Usually I am glued to my phone for the same. So, today was different.

Since I was getting bored I got my ear phones on and started listening to a latest Bollywood romantic song "Mai Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga" (in english "I'd still love you",) from the new Bollywood movie Half-Girlfriend. 

While I was doing that, I thought why not open my Minimalist Photography Folder and check the edited pictures in it. The above photograph has been edited about 4 months back but I had still not posted it.

Something stopped me every-time I tried to post.  While I began writing this post, I observed the Photograph carefully and then I realized it actually relates to the song I am listening to. 

So, my sub-conscious mind made me select this photograph by correlating the words of the song to it. The song's lyrics are "I'd still love you" the rest of the assumption in general is "no matter what"... So, "I'd still love you, no matter what".

If we consider the stem of the plant with leaves, as a person who was in love but got heart-broken. The same is represented here by both The Missing Leaves and the Lack of Color in the Photograph ie. it being Black and White. 

And for a moment it appeared to me that this person is singing this song "I'd still love you, no matter what" (despite being broken, despite The Missing Leaves.)

You might think I am crazy but for me this is the plus side of being a Minimalist Photographer. My sense of observation has increased a lot and I am able to now co-relate things. 

Anyways, lets take a look at the Composition:

The Composition is quite Simple. Just place the subject in the right, and leave some empty space. That is all. But wait, this is Gray. Gray is challenging to edit. Make sure to adjust the Highlights and Contrast in the right proportion. This took me a very long time to edit, just to get the gray right. 

The Photo, as most of my Minimalist Photos, Falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category of Minimalist Photography. 

I found the leaves lying on a plastic chair near a road side kiosk, that sells bangles near Jantar Mantar, Jaipur.

The Lens that I used was the Canon, 100 mm prime macro lens.

Thank you for reading this till the end. 

Have a Nice Day !  

Different Therefore Cornered

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

Minimalist Photography of a Red Leaf on a Brick Wall in Jaipur

Take a different stand or opinion and you shall be cornered quickly. Now-a-days there are very few people who respect "difference of opinion" or the uniqueness of people. Suppose you choose a career that is not very popular like, enrolling for a fine art course or sculpting rather than business management or finance or science, people start viewing you differently. Some may even stop hanging out with you.

Behind your back they will tell to others that something is seriously wrong with you, and that you are not a normal person. Well, I fail to understand how does if matter that you choose what. Even for me, whether I choose to do Minimalist photography knowing the fact of it being non-mainstream and I wont be able to make premium dollars for it, or I do wedding or product photography its completely my choice. 

Why do people get bothered?. People are diseased with "crowd-behavior" and they want others to do the same. Why do they forget that at some point even the most popular genres of work were not so popular and it took a group of few individuals who believed in these genres and made them popular.

Few words on the composition of Nature Minimalist Photography

Coming back to the shot, I found this beautiful red leaf at Smriti Van Jaipur. The photo-walk was organized by the local Instagramers Jaipur team and me being a power user decided to attend it. Quite a few of my work is listed on Instagram and you can follow me there via my Id: @prakashghai

I have taken many leaf photos earlier but this one was special as the leaf was red in color. How could I not make a minimal composition with that, is what I told myself. I wanted the focus purely on the leaf and therefore I placed the leaf on extreme top right, making the shot fall under the Minimalism Category: Minimalism as Less Elements.

I chopped off most part of the distracting blue fence. It was spoiling the color palette and was making my shot look more maximally minimal in nature rather than minimally minimal. I used leading lines in reverse this time, beginning from the left of the frame and broadening as they approached the leaf and hence pointing at the subject.

Must Read:

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

A New Relationship

Minimalism as Less Elements

Nature Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

When a new person enters your life and you realize that he/she could be that one person you were waiting for. You tend to make more room in your heart for that person. But, it is to be seen over time as to how much space that person actually occupies.

The leaves of the plant just entering the frame is that special person, with whom you begin A New Relationship. The shadow of the leaves is your estimation of the initial space that person may occupy in your heart, and the extra space or negative space hints at the scope of that relationship. To shoot this, I moved out one afternoon on my bike at around 4 pm. The temperature was 42 degrees Celsius. This is pretty normal for North India, as May and June are peak summer months. 

I did go out in such heat on purpose as, I get a lot of light and shadow combination shots this time, and people are generally in their houses sleeping, so you can shoot with no one getting offended. This was shot zoomed in with a 55-250 mm lens, with sweat flowing down to my neck. Don't get confused by the shadow while applying the rule of thirds. Always apply it on the main (real) subject and let the shadow take its place. If the shadow is getting cropped, rearrange the shot. I shot for about an hour and to avoid getting ill with the heat I drank not one but two soft drinks. 

I generally avoid aerated beverages but the shop where I had stopped did not have any mineral water with them and I had no energy left to go find it at another shop.

Well, Minimalism calls for sacrifices and I did my bit.

Must Read:

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