Albert Hall Museum Reflection

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of the Reflection of Albert Hall Museum - Jaipur, in a Water Puddle.

Thanks to Post-Rain Photowalks, one gets to find many a Water Puddles on the streets of Jaipur.

This Water Puddle was spotted right in front Albert Hall Museum.

One usually finds a lot of birds near Albert Hall and I took multiple shots to get this one right.

I  waited for about 15 minutes to get these Flying Birds within the Reflection. I got 2 captures and then my patience ran off.

When I reviewed the 2nd shot, I was convinced I got what I wanted.

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/11
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-5000
  
  
• Focal Length: 85 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Albert Hall Museum Reflection  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

Similar Shot: Albert Hall Tower

Metal Chain Reflection

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimal Art Photograph of the Reflection of a Metal Chain in Water.

This Minimalist Photograph was captured today evening at about 6.30 pm, near Vidhan Sabha Jaipur.
I went out a bit late today, as there was slight drizzle at around 5.00 pm. But, since the drizzle came with an assurance of  Water Puddles, I was OK with it.

Its not easy to find reflections of appropriate subjects in Puddles of Water, as it takes a lot of bending, looking, staring at them in public and getting all the attention and questions from strangers.

Before finding this, I looked at about 15-18 water puddles. 

So why did I choose this Water Puddle?

/i did so because,

a) here the subject aka the Metal Chain's reflection in water was very clear

b) Subject was at an appropriate height.

c) Because the chain was making a curve.

Well, what else I could have asked for? 

I originally shot this in Monochrome. I did not elevate the Photograph much during editing because I wanted to keep the photograph a touch less bright.

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/13
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/ 320 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-2500
  
  
• Focal Length: 80 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  

Hope you enjoyed the Metal Chain Reflection Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day.

Water Reflection Of Garden Lamps At The Akshardham Temple, Jaipur

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A few days back, I went to The Akshardham Temple, Jaipur with my mother and her sister. I had recommended this place to them. The architecture here, is quite intriguing and the place also has a well-maintained garden right opposite the temple stairs. 

We arrived a little early, at about 5.40 pm. I inquired with the gatekeeper about what time does the Main Aarti ( prayer) takes place everyday. He told us that there are Two Aarti's (prayers), one at 7 pm and the other one at 8 pm. 

We had plenty of time, so we decided to take a walk in the garden and took some casual cellphone pictures. It was still only 6.15 pm and we had plenty of time left for the Main Prayer to begin. 

There is a small eating place inside the vicinity, towards the right of the Temple. We decided to have our evening snacks there to kill some more time. I had been to this Temple before. So, I knew there was another place right below the Main Temple, where worship takes place. 

I told my mother while we were eating, that I shall quickly go and check, if that portion of the temple is still open like last time. 

While I was on my way, I spotted this water puddle, but to my disappointment I could not see a decent reflection in it. I proceeded to the place downstairs. 

On my way back, I again had a look at this water puddle from a distance. This time, I could see the reflection of a palm tree placed in the garden, in it. Right behind the Tree, there was this beautiful lamp that you see in the reflection. So, I became both curious and excited. I wanted to find out whether with my feet movement, I'd be able to get the reflection of that Garden Lamp in the water puddle. 

After a lot of adjustment and bending and trying to look with one eye closed, I finally found the reflection of the Garden Lamp being casted in the water puddle. I did not had the camera with me that point of time. It was on the table at which I was having my evening snack with my mother.

Since light had started to fade fast, I knew I had little time to go back, bring the camera, punch in the settings and Click the photo. So, I rushed to get my camera back and finally took this shot.

Initially, I tried using a faster shutter speed and a lower ISO, but that did not work well as the light was fading. 

Therefore, I switched to the following EXIF settings:

• ISO speed: ISO-400
• Exposure time: 1/100 sec
• F-stop: f/3.5
• Exposure bias: 0 step

 

Lets also talk about the Classification:

The Photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category of "Minimalist Photography". 

The main elements being: 

a) The Floor

b) The Water Reflection Of Garden Lamps.

Also, there is plenty of negative space in the frame which adds to the beauty. 

Please Note: I have flipped the photo upside-down to make it more appealing. Reflection Photos generally are taken straight first to adjust for rule of thirds and to balance the composition. Later, they are Flipped. It may sound a little tricky, but you will get it right with some practice. 

To get a clearer idea of what I mean, turn your cellphone upside down. If, you are viewing this picture via the computer, then right click, and "Save Photo" and then Flip it.

OK, I am done for the day. 

Hope to see you soon.

Reflection Of Street Lamp In A Water Puddle

Minimalism as Less Elements 

 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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This shot was taken Post-rain, outside "Jal Dhara" recreation park at JLN Marg Jaipur. 

Finding Water Puddles otherwise is very tough, unless of course there is a pipeline leakage or cleaning going on somewhere. Once you spot a water puddle, judge it by the clarity of the reflection and the amount of light it is offering. A water puddle that is both muddy and reflects less light, is of no use. Choose one wisely, before you decide to put in your effort.

Once you've chosen a puddle, go down on your knees and try to find out, what is being reflected in the puddle. If you do not see anything worthwhile, change your position and look again. I would recommend you to do a full 360 degree review. That increases the chances of finding a good subject drastically. Once you spot something worthwhile, I suggest shooting RAW or using Exposure Bracketing on your camera. 

Getting the exposure right in such shots it a little tough. Post-processing definitely offers helps here. I am also sharing the EXIF Data of the photo below. Hope that helps too.

EXIF Data

• Camera Maker: Canon
• Camera Model: Canon 600D
• Lens: Canon 50mm f 1.4
• Camera Mode: Manual
• ISO speed: ISO-100
• F-stop: f/4
• Exposure time: 1/160 sec
• Exposure bias: 0 step

A word on the Composition:

This photo is Minimalism as Less Elements, where the only element in the frame is the Reflection of Street Lamp in the water puddle. The Subject is placed on top right, leaving negative space on the left. The footpath has been used in a way so as to form a diagonal line on the left. The line adds to the overall composition and balances the frame.

Let me also caution you a little. Shooting water puddles on streets with traffic is risky. One tends to get lost in the shot and forgets completely about the vehicles around. I would advise, not to take any undue risks. If it is risky to take a shot, then simple find another shot or subject. Subjects for Minimalist Photos are everywhere, observe closely and you will find many.

Remember: Safety first, photos later.

The Other World

Minimalism as Less Elements 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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What if there are other worlds that co-exists along with ours right here on planet Earth. Maybe there are other objects or people/aliens who are not visible to us as we can only see objects or people that lie in our dimension. For Example we can only see things that are in a) 3D b) 2D c) 1D but not 4D, But those who live in the 4th Dimension or 4D can see all 4 dimensions including theirs but not sneak peak into the 5th Dimension or 5D and the chain goes on upto infinite Dimensions. They all talk of aliens/Ufo's or other beings visiting our planet or have visited our planet in the past. Maybe they all live here but some have the know-how or technology to do "Dimension Travel". Whenever I see shadows or reflections I completely get into a different state of mind and begin to ponder if there was a way by which I could visit the worlds of shadows or reflections at least.

Back to the Composition

This is Minimalism as Less Elements where my primary subject is the small bird sitting on the wire accompanied by its supporting subject or the co-actor in the movie ie the tree. To find such a shot one has to either go out post rain or find a place where there is water seepage. Its relatively easy to find such places In India as some of the local shopkeepers water the road right outside their shop and use cleanliness as a tactic to attract customers. I took this shot right in front of a cigarette selling shop in Jaipur.  The shopkeeper cleaned the area right outside his shop alright but he left the place next to his shop untidy with spare water having nowhere to go. One of the key challenges in reflection photography is to get the exposure right and be lucky enough to have clear water for visible reflections. Water puddles with a lot of mud should be avoided. I would suggest shooting in the RAW file format so that such tricky photos could be well edited. Also, it is a usual practice to flip water reflection photos to add in the extra magic but here at least in this shot, the flip wasn't looking nice so I kept it the way it is. Mind you, the bird is not as sharp as the tree, I mean that is your choice as to where you keep the focus point at but that did not change my subject and it is still the bird. 

The Inflection Point

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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Each loop of the Rusted iron chain here represents "An unsuccessful attempt to succeed in life." Some people do not have much luck by their side. They keep failing in whatever they do. If you carefully observe there are 11 loops or 11 attempts or 11 new ventures an individual tried, starting from the top all of which are in focus. But, the vision blurs out from the 12th one signifying that unlucky person is now tired and completely exhausted from a series of failures. He has reached The Inflection Point, from where everything has started to look blurry. There is loss of hope, lack of self belief and complete loss of faith in god. What should such a broken person do ? Give up? or still Carry on? Isn't there a limit to anything ? How strong could one be or rather act?

Composition 

This is an extreme low angle close-up shot with my 50 mm Canon 1.4 prime lens that I recently bought. Results of this lens are way better than my previous 50 mm 1.8 Canon prime lens. While composing I kept my aperture at F/7 and the focus point around the beginning 1/3rd of the frame to try and get most things sharp. Following rule of thirds was a little tricky and I don't like center splits, so I placed the diagonal line formed by the rusted chain a little off-center and biased towards left.