Old Staircase at Amber Fort, Jaipur

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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What we have here is a Staircase, a Side Rail and a Small Rusty Metal Door on the Bottom Right.

But, I titled Old Staircase at Amber Fort, Jaipur it to keep it simple :)

Although the Photograph falls under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry Category, there is also the Parts of the Whole Minimalism visible here in a way. 

I say so because, whats visible is a part of each element, namely the Side Rail, Staircase and The Rusty Metal Door.

The Wall Texture and Decay lifts the Artistic Appeal of the shot. 

I found this setting at the very famous Amber Fort, Jaipur. I took many shots that day and this one comes from one of my old folders. This image is about 2 years old. 

Its interesting, that at that point of time i.e 2 years back, the level of my enthusiasm was pretty high and I used to go to far-off places to shoot. 

Revisiting old photos also help you to see as to how you have evolved as a photographer. 

I guess my editing style has improved now and also the range of the shots that I take. 

With those thoughts, let me close this post.

I have my Hot Tea at my side table that I need to finish and pop a multi-vitamin tablet and head straight to work.

See you all

Have a great day !

White Staircase

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Staircases are one of my Favorite Subjects when it comes to Minimalist Photography. 

 

This White Staircase I found at the "Jharkhand Mahadev Temple" located at Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, India. 

Apart from the above shot, I have clicked many other Minimalist Photographs from this place. The architecture of the Temple is very simple  and geometric.

I guess in old times, people understood the value of Simplicity and Utility. And of course, since this is temple area, it need not be very modern. 

I like going to this place often, for the vibes are amazing. You must visit this small Temple for sure when you land up in Jaipur sometime for a vacation.

Coming back to the composition, the Minimalist Photograph of the White Staircase above, falls nicely under the Minimalism as Simple Geometry Category of Minimalist Photography / Minimalism. 

The Simple Geometry being Lines and its combinations. The subtle texture and dirt on the staircase and the White wall, creates  a nice artsy feel.

I took this shot a little from the side, to create a sense of depth. I have kept everything basic and simple this time.

Hope you enjoyed the shot. 

Stay tuned for more.

The Half-way mark

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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One may have any kind of goal or objective in his/her life but it all begins with the first few steps. Generally goals, (I am not talking about dreams here as they are usually vague) are set high and one starts working on them on the premise of hope, optimism and hard-work combined. But what happens with most people is that they work way too hard right at the start and get tired or exhausted by the time they are supposed to reach the "Half Way Mark". 

They end up concluding that the path they chose was wrong and they should try something else. My point here is that one should be patient enough and work at a steady pace until one reaches the Half Way Mark. Because after reaching this point, the goal (depicted by the red square) becomes clearly visible and what needs to be done or how many more stairs to climb to get there becomes clearly visible too (depicted by the number of stairs left to be taken). 

So what we learn here is that we should never take a call on something before we reach the half way mark. 

Getting back to the Mini-tutorial part of the photo. This is Minimalism as Less Elements. Some of you may argue that the geometry is spread out evenly and the shot is a little too detailed. But here I have inferred the Staircase in totality as one elements and the red square as a supporting side element. This might also fall under the category  Minimalism as Simple Geometry as there are a lot of lines and basic geometric shapes in the shot. Shooting this fully sharp from front to back required a high aperture and I shot it around F 8.0. Remember to keep your focus point roughly at 1/3rd of the total distance/depth of the frame to get everything mostly in focus. I kept the focus point on the left, between the 2nd and 3rd zigzag. Hope you enjoyed the shot and I send you all seasons greetings all the way from Jaipur- India. 

PS: Don;t forget to check out my new venture on Instagram the "Learn Minimalism" and the hashtag that I started there  #LearnMinimalism

By using the hashtag you too can take part in the Minimalist Photography Contest. The page has more than 43,000 followers and about 2,30,000 photos in the hashtag and growing. A lot of effort has been put in to promote and spread Minimalism in Photography on a global level. This lesser known genre deserves to be spread and "I am doing my bit for it."

Piano Keys

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of the area under a circular staircase, very symbolic of piano keys.

This is a photograph of the Geometric structure under a circular staircase, which I spotted at Ganpati Plaza Jaipur.

I went to the Canon Camera shop to purchase an external flash. I thought that would be a good add-on for my Camera Kit, so I bought a Flash for myself.

I also had this at the back of my mind that maybe someday, I would get into commercial photography and I might need this thing then. So why not buy it now and experiment.

Soon after I purchased that expensive add-on, I roamed around to hunt for some Minimalist Photographs. I kept on wandering looking here and there, and I was struggling to stop Geometry.

But then, there was this Circular Staircase near me, that lead to the first floor. I thought it would be a good idea to step a bit away from the staircase and try and capture its circular/spiral nature.

I did so, but the shot had a lot of distracting elements in the background. I tried many shots but I wasn't able to crop those elements out or make the frame look Minimalist. So I gave up on those shots.

But, right under the Circular Staircase there was this Geometric Pattern, so I went under the staircase and zoomed in, looking up to capture this Minimalist Photography.

I found this rhythmic upward curve being formed, and that quickly reminded me of Piano Keys. And Bingo, I had my shot.

I hope you enjoyed this discovery of mine.

For more Minimalist Shots stay tuned or just bookmark this blog :)

Dual Staircases

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimalist Architecture Photograph of a Dual staircase.

Why I Paired Two Staircases Instead of One?

I was walking around Swej Farm in Jaipur and I saw these two staircase openings cut into the side of a building and I just stopped there for a minute because something about the way they were sitting on that plain wall felt like it was a decent frame to capture, I just had to figure out exactly what that frame was.

The staircases were quite far from me, maybe 50 to 60 feet away, so I pulled out my Canon 55-250 mm lens and zoomed in a lot to get close to what I was seeing with my eyes, and because I was zoomed in that much I had to shoot at a higher shutter speed to make sure the image did not come out blurry, which is always the risk when you are handholding at long focal lengths.

I mostly never carry a tripod because I find it very inconvenient to set up on public places as I am an introvert. Instead I always shoot RAW and JPEG together so that later I can open the RAW file for corrections when at home and pull out more details or add some sharpness to the photograph to compensate for the handheld blur.

My first attempt was just capturing one staircase, shot in landscape orientation. When I reviewed it on the camera LCD screen, it felt a bit flat and boring. The photograph was not saying anything, rather just showing a shape sitting there with no real reason. That is the thing about minimalist photography and black and white minimalism specifically, you can have a clean frame and good light and still have a photograph that has no life in it if the composition is not doing any work.

The One Decision That Changed This Minimalist Shot

So I stepped back a little and looked at the full wall again. I realised that having both the  staircases together in a portrait frame was the right shot. When you stack them one above the other, the eye starts moving between them and comparing them and finding the small differences. That is what gives the photograph its energy.

In black and white minimalism the tonal contrast is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, so the dark underside of each staircase sitting against the lighter wall is where the whole image is held together. Portrait orientation was the right call.

Swej Farm is not a famous location and most people walk past buildings like this without a second look, but that is where I find the photographs that interest me the most. 

In the ordinary places where real geometry hides. The architecture minimalism is just sitting quietly waiting for someone to slow down, notice it and frame it right. That is what minimalist photography is about, the art of noticing both what's hidden and goes unnoticed despite being there.

Must Read:

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• 5 Minimalist Photos that Depict Less is More