Lamp In Reflection

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Black and White Minimalist Photograph of the Reflection of a Lamp in a puddle of Water, at Panch Batti MI Road, Jaipur

This shot was taken today with my Cellphone Samsung Galaxy S10. I also performed the editing within the phone itself.

I am pretty satisfied with the output of Samsung Galaxy S10 phone camera and therefore, I have started shooting and posting some of my Cellphone Minimalist shots here.

I have been shooting Street Lamps as subject for a long time now. I have shot this one located at Panch Batti many a times before.

At Panch Batti crossing, one can usually find water puddles post rain. I always go there to peep in side the  water puddles to look for reflections of various possible subject in it.

This particular Street Lamp is situated right at the center of Panch Batti crossing.

Today, its shot came out really well. So it made is here. I actually used the Telephoto Lens of the phone camera, went down on my knees and snapped this at a very low angle. ( you know these photos are flipped when posted).

I did use Snapseed Android App to edit this. I was primarily very happy with the Black and White tones and editing of my Samsung S10 this time.

I would not post the EXIF Data today, as I shot this in the Auto Mode.

Only thing is that as always, I shot this a bit underexposed using manual finger tapping on screen to adjust the same. 

Also, in the composition you can see how I have left negative space on the top and shown the subject i.e The Lamp in Reflection relatively small, as compared to the overall frame. 

Hope you enjoyed the Lamp in Reflection  Minimalist Photograph.

Thank you for your time. Have a Nice Day !

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

White Square Water Reflection

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
NFT sold to Ishika Guha: View NFT

This White Square Water Reflection was spotted at Jawahar Kala Kendra, post a Rain Shower on a Sunday. 

I was lucky enough to find a Water Puddle at such a spot, where the White Square was visible in it. 

Of course, I had to bend down a lot to get the White Square in the puddle. 

These kind of shots are my favorite. 

Its just that I don't go out enough (other than Sundays to shoot), therefore I don't find a lot of them.

The EXIF Data for the Photo is as follows:

• Camera Maker: Canon
  
  
• Camera Model: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
  
  
• Lens: Canon 100 mm Prime Macro L Series Lens
  
  
• F-stop: f/7.1
  
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec.
  
  
• ISO speed: ISO-320
  
  
• Exposure bias: 0 step
  
  
• Focal Length: 100 mm
  
  
• Metering mode: Spot
  
  
• Flash mode: No flash
  
  
• Exposure program: Manual
  
  
• White Balance: Auto

Hope you enjoyed the White Square Water Reflection Minimalist Photograph.

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

Reflection of Two Pigeons in a Water Puddle

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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Looks like this is shot on the beach right? 

Well, there is no beach in my City, Jaipur. Its just that one can pull off such shots by finding puddles of water post rains. That is exactly what I did. 

I found this large puddle of water at SMS Stadium, Jaipur. 

There was a lot of clutter being reflected in the puddle. I took a full 360 degree view and walked around the entire puddle to find interesting reflections. 

I spotted a reflection of a Street Lamp to begin with and within in a few seconds, these two Love Birds/Pigeons Flew onto the Water Puddle. 

There is an Old Zen Saying that says "When the student is ready, the master appears."

If one relates that to Photography it could mean "When the Photographer is ready, the subject appears."

Yes, indeed The Subject appeared when I was ready. It has happened with me a lot of times before.

Once I had my subject ready, I decided to shoot this in the Vertical/ Portrait mode. That helped me remove some unwanted elements from the frame. I also cropped this photograph to further reduce clutter. 

Why I liked the subject despite being very common? was because these birds signify Relationship /Companionship / Love. That was the first appeal. The second was their reflection in water. 

In the Minimalist Composition above, I have also left a lot of Negative Space and followed the obvious Rule of Thirds. 

One important point to note is that, here we have 3 shades or 3 tones of color i.e Light / Medium / Dark. That really pops a Black and White Photograph.

The same principle is followed in Pencil Shading.

The 3 Light/ Medium and Dark tones are the basics of Pencil Shading. I did learn a bit about it last year.

Hope that you enjoyed the Black and White Minimalist Photograph of the Reflection of Two Pigeons above :)

...and the Minimalist or rather maybe not so Minimalist Description.

See you next time. 

Bye !

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. 

Whenever it rains

Minimalism as Low Detail

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai

Whenever It Rains: Night Rain Reflection Minimalist Photography

This is one of those minimalist photography shots that took patience and timing to get right. A rainy night, a wet road, two traffic lights, and the kind of water reflection photography moment that only reveals itself if you are willing to wait and get your knees dirty.

Rains generally make everyone smile, uplift people's mood and bring in a sense of love and romance. The feeling is indeed very special.

But, for people who have had a fight with their loved one or for some reason or the other are away from the one whom they really care for, rains remind them of their loneliness. It reminds them that, neither they are "able to express their love" nor "they are able to get back any in return".

It is even worse for people who are single, not because they did not get any proposals of friendships but because "they could never find anyone who could ever understand them". They are still waiting for the companionship of that special someone with whom they can walk hand-in-hand and get drenched.

On the contrary, the lucky ones get to celebrate this gift of mother nature. They go out on long drives, eat out, party. Well plenty of options for them. 

A Few Words on the Low Detail Minimalist Composition

This is a water reflection photography shot taken during a rainy night in Jaipur. I was out on a photowalk with a good old friend of mine and while on my way back when I had given up all hopes of taking some good shots due to the heavy shower, I spotted this.

Two traffic lights next to each other. The yellow one was continuously blinking and I had to wait for the other to turn green. The red you see next to the green comes from the brake lights of the cars passing by and the big patch of yellow on the top left are the bright yellow overhead lights meant to illuminate the crossing. The wet road turned all of it into a colorful minimalist photography composition I was not expecting.

The composition and the Minimalism Type: Low Detail is self-explanatory.  

PS: For me this is a rare shot as I had to bend on my knees and I am very lazy but I am always up for it if it is a water reflection shot.

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Parallel Universe

Minimalism as Low Detail

I once had a discussion for about half an hour with one of my good friends Gigi Starlings on Facebook about shadows and reflections. I showed her this photograph and she in return showed me a few of hers, primarily containing shadows. The next thing she mentioned was, that this might be the parallel universe we talk about and I was in agreement instantly. Shadows and reflections could be the other universe that co-exists with us but we fail to give it due importance. But I took it a little further and asked her what if, this is not the reality we live in and we infact ourselves are a mere reflection of some other universe (reality). Possible? Well, I would love to know what you all think of it. Coming back to the shot, This photo falls under the category Minimalism as  Low Detail which is very evident from the shot. I was walking around Ganpati Plaza, Jaipur (shopping complex) looking for some shots of windows and other geometric structures. I went there post a heavy shower and I was lucky enough to find this puddle of water right in front of me on my way back. Repeating shapes (yellow building) and the contrasting blue and yellows were too tempting to miss. Composing this shot was a challenge. I stepped backwards, bent my knees and took about 4 shots from various angles. I finally got the composition right. You would not get a proper or a size-able reflection of your subject if you don't shoot it from the right angle. Being on your knees is the best way to shoot such subjects.
 

Photo by © Prakash Ghai - Buy Now

Minimalist Reflection of Street Light

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of the Reflection of street light in stagnant water on the road.

There is only one element in the frame i.e the Minimalist Reflection of Street Light, in the puddle of stagnant water. 

The subject is placed on the bottom right corner so as to follow the Rule of Thirds. A lot of Negative Space has been left on the top, to make the eye wander in the frame and find the subject eventually.

Such compositions are very tricky, and you only get them right with loads of practice. Shooting water reflections could take hundreds of wrong photos. I spotted this arrangement after looking over at about 10-12 water puddles.

You have to bend down every-time, move 360 degrees around it to check what can be spotted in it. Once you find the right subject in the puddle, try various angles and combinations, by varying the degrees at which that you bend. 

Hope you enjoyed the post. 

Stay tuned for more Minimalist Photographs!