Park Bench Corner

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of the Corner of a Park Bench at Central Park, Jaipur.

My intention here was to emphasize on the Curve of the Bench Armrest and the Spiral shape it was forming at the top. 

To achieve this, I used the widest aperture possible on my Canon 100 mm prime Macro lens, aka f/2..8 

Shooting with such an aperture resulted in effective segregation of the subject in the foreground with the background, for this setting created Background Blur or Bokeh. The Bokeh effect results in sharp attention and focus on the key subject. Note: there must be some depth behind the subject for the bokeh/background blue effect to come out nicely.

I also wanted to show the Shadow of the Park Bench Corner on the wall, and to achieve that I moved a little to the left of the Armrest.

The EXIF Data of the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Macro Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/2.8
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Park Bench Corner Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Open Window Squares and Shadows

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai

A Black and White Look-Up Minimal Art Photograph of an Open Window with Squares and its Shadow falling on a Wall, at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

Look-Up Minimalism is Lit. 

And when you find a subject like this, it is like hitting the Jackpot. This Open Window was found near the Art Gallery 1 and 2 at Jawahar Kala Kendra.

I usually stroll there on Sundays hunting for Art Exhibitions and Hustling for Minimalist Compositions. 

Jawahar Kala Kendra never disappoints. I am amazed myself as to how many different composition I have got from Jawahar Kala Kendra. Just Search my Blog using "Jawahar Kala Kendra" as keyword and you would know. I still can believe it and I am still not tired shooting there.

Anyways, What I liked here was that the Window has 4 Squares in it and the same Squares were also visible in the Shadow. I purposefully shot only a part of the Window to make the composition a bit interesting. 

Lastly, The huge Light and Shadow combination is what made my Jaw Drop. 

I had to hurry a bit to take the shot, as with past experience I know, shadows change lightning fast and your composition dreams may instantly go for a toss.

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/6.3
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-400
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Open Window Squares and Shadows Minimalist Photograph.

Bicycle At Amber Fort

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Minimalist Photo of a Bicycle at Amber Fort - Jaipur

I was out on a Photowalk with a group of friends to Amber Fort Jaipur. This Black Bicycle against the Yellow Wall, caught my eye. 

There was also Light and Shadow effect on the wall and I was at an appropriate distance. To begin with, I was getting a lot of clutter and it was getting difficult to decide as to what to keep in the frame and what to leave out. I tried going close but then the Bicycle was coming out to be too big in the frame doing away with the Minimalist aspect of the photo.

Therefore, I stepped back and tried the classic way of placing the Subject according to the Rule of Thirds, bottom left of the frame strategy and let all else fall in the frame. With little adjustments here and there, it worked :) 

This strategy always works!!!

And Hey I forgot to tell you "India is now under 21 Day Lockdown due to the CoronaVirus" and today is my 1st Day under Quarantine and I decided to do a blogpost to take a break from all the Media Headlines. I guess I will be posting more photos now that I have more free time.

I wish all of you and your family the best of health and safety. Please wash your hands, take your vitamin C and don't forget to take some sunlight.

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/7.1
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-400
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Bicycle at Amber Fort 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 !

The Missing Couple

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Minimalist Photography 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 !

Streak Of Light Vs Geometry

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimalist Photograph of a Streak of Light on the Facade of a Building with multiple Windows.

This is inside the Mall located at B2 Bypass. On the top Floor, there is this famous Asteria Cafe. 

I was there that day at the Cafe to Shoot a Model "Priya Mathur", along with a friend of mine named Yatin. 

It was his shoot actually and I was there just to chill out :) 

On my way back I took the stairs. Imagine 9 floors of stairs. 

I do this on purpose, as I find interesting stuff to shoot around the staircases.

I spotted this Streak of Light somewhere from the 7 the floor. 

I had to crop this out a bit during editing, as there were too many windows, resulting in a cluttered image. Though, to avoid the same, I experimented shooting this with both the Landscape and the Portrait version. 

I eventually used the Landscape version here and cropped out a portrait shot, thanks to the mis-alignments and clutter in most shots.

Nobody is perfect you see.  The composition is fairly simple and I have on purpose kept the contrast a touch low here.

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/ 1000 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-1000
  
  
• Focal Length: 85 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Streak of Light Vs Geometry Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day.

Siderail Diagonal

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of a Diagonal Line created by the Siderail of a Staircase.

The Shadows on either side of the Siderail Diagonal Line was what prompted me to capture this subject and create it into a Minimalist frame.

I kept this Photograph colored, as yellow colored walls look fairly pleasing to the eyes. 

Also note, I haven't tinkered much with the brightness and contrast of the photograph, as I did not want to overdo anything here. 

Light and Shadow Minimalist Photos are a little tricky to edit. Another assumption that you can make is that, I was a bit lazy and therefore I did not make this Photograph pop that much via editing ;) Maybe? ;)

While composing this Photograph the only thing that I had to be careful with, was to shoot the Photograph from the right top-down angle and at the same time leave Negative Space, in a correct manner. 

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/4
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/ 3200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 70 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Siderail Diagonal  Minimalist Photograph.

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

Monochrome Lines Minimal

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

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A Monochrome Minimal Art Picture of Lines created by Light and Shadows formation, on the walls of Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Sometimes, Light and Shadows help you create subjects, if you are observant enough. This formation was spotted at Jawahar Kala Kendra, while I was on a hunt for Subjects Looking Up at the sky. I generally do so by following color differentials between walls, structures and the sky and also the Light and Shadow formations.  

I clearly saw Simple Geometry aka Lines here as my key element. I knew, this would look decent in Monochrome, so all that I had to do, was to expose the photograph properly and perfect the alignments within the frame.

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/6.3
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-100
  
  
• Focal Length: 105 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Monochrome Lines Minimal  Minimalist Photograph.

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

Six Steps

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of Six Steps of one of the two Entrance Staircases at Hawa Mahal Jaipur.

This Minimal Art photograph is an improvement over the earlier Minimalist picture that I took at the same place of the same staircase "A Call from the Unknown". 

In the earlier photograph, there was a lot of Negative Space and was a very low angle shot. But in this Photograph, you see that I am shooting somewhat top-down and the amount of Negative Space is less. 

Also, by adding the 2 Steps turning towards the left and making them disappear after that, I have tried to create some sort of Mystery in the frame to engage the viewer. 

Because, I am showing Pure/Simple Geometry as a base in this Minimalist Photograph, therefore, I classified it under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry  category of Minimalist Photography.

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/16
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-500
  
  
• Focal Length: 35 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Six Steps  Minimalist Photograph.

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

Light Through The Box

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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OK, so what we have here is A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of Light Passing through a Box lit via a Light Bulb at Jawahar Kala Kendra Jaipur.

This Photo is a bit Maximal in Nature aka Maximally Minimal, because of shadow spreading all over the frame.

But, in essence the Photo is Minimal because of Less Elements, i.e The Box and the Shadows created via it. No other elements are here. 

If you look at the Photograph ignoring the shadows, then you will be able to see how I composed my shot. I simply placed the Box in the frame according to rule of thirds, leaving negative space on the side. That negative space is where the shadows are. 

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/4.5
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-1000
  
  
• 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 Light Through The Box Minimalist Photograph.

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

Distant Circle And Door

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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I had been trying to shoot this kind of perspective for a while now.  I tried to shoot such a frame at different places at Jawahar Kala Kendra. 

Finally, this frame made it to my blog. 

The reason being, I have a clear Subject i.e the Circle and a complimentary Subject aka the Door. 

Also there are clear Leading Lines and the big Shadow Patch adds even more interest to the composition. 

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/22
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-250
  
  
• Exposure bias: 0 step
  
  
• Focal Length: 50 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Flash mode: No flash
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  
• White Balance: Auto

Hope you enjoyed the Distant Circle and Door  Minimalist Photograph.

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

Triangle Vs Lines

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Minimalism as Simple Geometry. Yes I am back to that here. 

I was able to carve out a Triangle between the Lines being formed by the light passing through the piped roof at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur. 

therefore, I named this post Triangle Vs Lines and its a kind of Juxtaposition of geometric forms being shown here. 

I remember, I was on my Crop-Sensor Canon EOS 600 D camera and the Canon 100mm Prime F/2.8 Macro L Series Lens. 

The shot was taken at about 4.15 pm.

I was there at Jawahar Kala Kendra that day to attend Jaipur Photographer's Club Annual Photography awards function. 

This area was right next to the place. I went in late of course as I was busy shooting.

I shot this in Black and White? NO, but yes I did manage to edit it just OK for it. 

I still wanted the Center area or the Triangle to be more bright. 

I tried raising the brightness. Then,I realized, I must leave it as near to the original as possible as I want some photos to be a little gray and dull in black and white, rather than all being high contrast with tonality. 

That said, I need to rush downstairs for some late night Tea + Snacking :)

Mind you its 33 minutes past Midnight and I am really hungry.

See you !

• In-case you want to buy framed prints of my photographs visit my Minimalism Gallery: https://prakash-ghai.pixels.com/collections/minimalism

Old House Bell

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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What we have here is a Minimalist Photograph of an Old House Door Bell with Long Shadow on Textured White Wall

I captured this shot somewhere near Nandpuri Jaipur.

I remember I was on my Scooter and I had my helmet on while I snapped this. 

Actually, its a little risky clicking pictures of houses in broad daylight. People spot you easily and then they turn up to fight with you. 

So, I have devised this strategy to hang the camera in my neck while I ride the scooter with the helmet on, so that no one recognizes me when I snap a picture right outside their house.

Even If they spot me sometimes, because I am on my scooter, I quickly disappear ;)

I think I had talked about this shooting style in my earlier posts. 

Its Peak summer in Jaipur now and I like summer months to click such shots.

During hot summer afternoons, I can click these shots more easily as everyone is indoors protecting themselves from the heat. Mind you, the temperatures here go up-to 45 degrees. 

I don't mind the temperatures as such. Anything for Photography ;)

I decided to snap this Old House Bell because this invokes an emotional response as a subject. You know what I mean.

Other motivating elements were:

a) the White Textured Wall and 

b) the Long Shadow Underneath.

Hope you enjoyed the shot.

Thank You

Monochrome Staircase

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018. This is my First Blogpost of 2018 and I am happy that I have been actively blogging since July 2014.

 

I begin my year with this Monochrome Staircase Minimalist Photograph. This photo falls under Minimalism as Simple Geometry category under Minimalist Photography. 

Location: Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur

Lens used: Canon 100mm Prime Macro / Focal Length 100mm

Aperture: f 5.6

ISO: 100

Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec

A Word on the Composition

I included only a little part of the staircase on the right of the frame.

I left some space on the top to include the multiple lines formed by the light and shadow differential.

Photo was shot in color but converted to Black and White later in an editing software. 

Initially during editing, I increased the contrast and the brightness a lot, but later I realized that I overdid that part.

So, I cut down on the brightness and contrast a bit and increased the highlights.

Some bit of cropping was also done, say about 3-5%

Thank you for taking out time to go through my blog post. 

Wish you a Good Day !

Lady In Blue Saree Crossing The Street With An Umbrella

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Greetings once again. Today, I have a Street Shot to share with you all. I guess it was about time that I posted something different. So I flexed my creative muscle. 

This shot was taken today at about 4.45 pm. I stopped over a bridge/flyover with nothing in mind actually. There are two railway tracks under it, so trains keep passing by from there. I just stopped to have a look. I knew I would not be shooting the trains of course. Then, while I was observing the railways tracks below, I saw a few people passing by the street. I had a good look at the shadows being casted by them while crossing the street. 

I became pretty interested to find a subject and tried shooting different subjects that passed by the street from various angles. I missed a long shadow shot of an old man, another one of a bicycle's shadow (but that would not have been minimalist).

I also missed quite a few other people who passed by. By missed I mean, I missed the shots and I  deleted them on the spot, for I was not happy with the compositions. I could neither get the Street Photography shots right (that I shoot and keep for myself and not post them here) nor the Minimalism Shots right.

I told myself, never mind this happens. Then I spotted this Lady in Blue Saree with an Umbrella in her hand walking towards my frame. She was a little far, so I had to wait about 30 seconds. 30 Seconds is too long a wait for me, ha ha, I have less of patience and even lesser in summers when it is 45 degrees. Yes, today was hot as well. 

In the initial few shots that I took, The Lady in the Blue Saree, was just walking downwards towards me, from North to South and that was giving me a lot of clutter in the frame. I had the lady, the bus next to her in the parking, a car passing by and what not in the frame.

But, I kept following her movement and kept on clicking her. Then, surprise surprise, she just chose to change sides and cross the street. :)

Yes, this was my moment to de-clutter and I knew it.

Finally, I could now remove the unwanted elements from the frame. She moved from left to the right of the frame, while crossing the street, while her earlier movement was from north to south.

I wasted 3 more clicks, but in the 4th one, I was finally able to avoid the street traffic completely in the frame. I had to be fast but at the same time, I had to leave negative space on the left following The Rule of Thirds.

The Rule of Motion is also followed here. That rule says that one should leave space in front of the moving subject from where he/she/it is traveling to, to create a sense of motion in the minds of the viewer. Like here, when you see The Lady, you know she is going to travel from right of the frame to the left and there is physical empty space in front of her to do so. 

Also note that here. The Rule of thirds and The Rule of Motion, actually Overlaps.   

Minimalism Categorization.

The Photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category of Minimalist Photography. The primary element here being, the Lady In Blue Saree with carrying an Umbrella. The Street and Shadows acts a tiny supporting elements.

Hope that you enjoyed this street shot and my little explanation. 

And Wait, did you notice that the Lady has a cool sense of Fashion. She is wearing Blue and that is very soothing and ideal to wear in Peak Summer. :)