The Yellow Rectangle

Minimalism as Parts of the Whole

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

Good Evening.

Time and again I get back to basics i.e Basic Shapes and Simple Minimalism.

This is the most fun part, for this is what we used to learn in childhood. Basic Shapes and Colors.

Such Minimalist Photos are exciting to shoot and mind you, they might bring in a feeling of nostalgia.

That said, Lets quickly have a look at the Composition.

By moving to my left and bending down a little on my knees, I was able to carve out a small yellow rectangle from a big yellow sign board, that I found at an art exhibition. 

Placing it in the top right corner was my first instinct.

Since this is a part clipped from the whole, this Photograph falls under the Parts of the Whole Minimalism. 

One thing to remember here is that, It should be obvious to the viewer at first glance, that your intention is to show a part of the whole subject. 

That is all I have to say today. 

See you next time :)

Chao !   

Bicycle Tyre Colorful Lines Background

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Buy Now

Today, I am posting a Minimalist Photo of Tyre of a Bicycle with Colorful lines acting as a backdrop.

I had initially taken this photo with my Cellphone ( see: Mobile Minimalism ) but when I reviewed it on the screen, I thought this deserves to be on my Minimalism Blog. So, I took out My DSLR Camera to shoot this one more time. 

I shot this vertical so that I could use the colorful lines in the background in a creative way. Both the crop and the placement of the Bicycle Tyre on the bottom, is purposefully kept very tight. That kind of placement makes the viewer to take about one second to realize what the actual subject is. Once the viewer gives you his first second, he will surely spend more time on the photograph.

Classification and EXIF Data

The above photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category of Minimalist Photography.

You can see more examples of such photographs HERE

EXIF Data:-

• ISO speed: ISO-200
• Exposure time: 1/160 sec.
• F-stop: f/8
• Exposure bias: 0 step

Hope you enjoyed the Shot. 

To Subscribe to our blog posts click here: SUBSCRIBE

Spiral Stairs

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

Buy Now

Hello All !!

I am back with another Minimalist Photograph. I keep it easy these days and post Photographs only when I have some spare time. 

Back in 2014-15, I used to pressurize myself to do X number of blog posts / photographs a month. But, I realize that I am an artist and I should focus more on the purity of my expression and on the composition of the Photos that I click, rather than on "How to run a Blog". 

Focusing too much on the marketing aspect of the blog had started to affect my Photo Compositions. Therefore, I scaled back,  both on the number of posts and on Social Media marketing. 

PS: I do not publish all my photos here. I post Mobile Minimalism on my Instagram and some Canon DSLR(affiliate link) Photographs on my Facebook.  

A lot happened in the last few days. Donald Trump won the US elections, the Stock markets fell, Gold prices tumbled, there was a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in India etc etc.

Basically, a Minimalist like me ended up watching the Television for hours and got overloaded with News. 

Today,  to take a break from this, I decided to open my Photographs Folder, Edited a photo and started writing this blog post. A nice escape from all the noise.

Prior to writing this post, my Television was on. It is still on but No channel is displayed. I have pressed the TV/Av button to turn the screen Blank, Black and Silent. All that I can hear, is just the noise of the ceiling fan running. It is that peaceful, that calm. I am disconnected with the chaos of the world right now. Even my Mobile phone is a good two feet away from me for the last half an hour.

I am here, with you all and trust me it is blissful. 

"Less is more", "Silence is beautiful". are not just words. When you encounter such a state or feeling, you get immersed into it. You become a part of it.

By now it must be clear to you, that This post is my Escape from the "Noise of the world" today. And that is one of the major reasons I chose this "Spiral Stairs" photograph. It too, offers an escape.

Just look at how the stairs disappear to the top. Inviting you to climb up and Run away from the noise into open blue skies. To a place of "Peace and Calm", to a place of "Stillness".  

OK now, let back to the MINIMALIST Composition

The above photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category of Minimalist Photography.

As you can see above, the Spiral Stairs are positioned Diagonally and at the same time are also in the Center of the Frame. This is a way out from the regular rule of thirds. 

If the Spiral Stairs were not tilted and were vertically placed right in the center of the frame at 90 degrees, the composition would have looked odd. Centered compositions are less appealing to the human brain. 

Therefore, to avoid Center positioning, I tilted my Canon EOS 600D DSLR Camera(affiliate link) in my hand. 

The Tilt, made the top of the staircase bend towards the right, and the bottom of the Stairs fill the space on the left. This, kind of compensated for the rule of thirds and the subject is both, placed in the center and NOT.

Well, I hope some of you would accompany me to the staircase. 

Let's "Escape Together".

Abstract Minimalism or Zeroism

Minimalism Type: Zeroism

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
Buy Now

Good Evening People. "I hope this POST finds you in the best of your health and spirit." If not, then you better be exercising. Ahh, did I just mention exercise?

Yes I did. I used to avoid exercising as I am a lazy fellow or lets say, I was. Lately, I have discovered Walking.

Although it is easy to do but at the same time it has huge benefits. Don't believe me? Try and google it for yourself. When I did, I was amazed to find out that by walking just 30 minutes a day, one can prevent so many diseases. Well "Simplicity works" you see !!!

And that's precisely the reason I mentioned this today. 

Being a Minimalist, I have now shifted my attention to the simple things in life that we tend to ignore,

just like how we cannot spot a Minimalist Subject, despite it being right in front of our eyes. It all requires practice and a sense of observation. But before you practice, you must begin somewhere right? The first step to it is "Intent" and trust me all you need to do is "Develop the Intent to observe simple things. The rest will follow."

That said, lets get back to the Minimalist Photograph

The above photo falls under the Minimalism Type: Zeroism, which I have explained in the Types of Minimalism post.

As mentioned there, the above photo does not reflect any real world object/subject at first glance or even at a closer look.

The Viewer is kept guessing. The eye keeps moving. Yet this photo is a Minimalist Photograph. You may want to call it Maximalist but I am very clear about it that it is Minimalist and I can explain.

The only subject here is the juxtaposition between colorful curves versus the vertical lines. That's it. This, in total is one element (or maybe you can call it two).

The subject is actually a frosted finish plastic house gate, lit by the suns rays. The photograph has been taken around 4 pm in the afternoon in the harsh sun.

You can also call the above photograph as an abstract photograph. But we, The Minimalists tend to call most pictures Minimal, till the time the elements are less and there is some bit of symmetry, geometry, logic or explanation in them.

If you cant explain a Minimalistic photograph with the Rules of Minimalism, only then one can call it pure abstract.

I hope that clears it out. If not, then wait for more posts under the Zeroism Label. OR else, if you plan to visit Jaipur- India sometime, we can meet and have a discussion on this over coffee.

See you next time. Take Care.

Happy Clicking !!!