Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
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Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
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Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#2Could not agree more! Even if this is not easy to achieve you always need to repeat that KISS motto in your head while looking through the viewfinder. I believe so much in this principle that this great quote from Charles Mingus is the first sentence of my artist statement [1]: "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity".
And the photographer author of that article nailed it when she wrote: "Minimalist photography attempts to explore how much information can be taken away from a composition, before it loses its impact".
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#3So much of the difference between a great photo and an OK photo is simplicity. Even in a casual snapshot, walk around a little and try to block undesirable background details with desirable foreground. Try to surround faces with a solid area of color. I often find that, by the time I have put the subject in good light and found an angle that blocks background noise, my photo has composed itself.
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#4Could not agree more! Even if this is not easy to achieve you always need to repeat that KISS motto in your head while looking through the viewfinder. I believe so much in this principle that this great quote from Charles Mingus is the first sentence of my artist statement [1]: "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity". And the photographer auth…
I also like this quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry:
"Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n'y a plus rien à retrancher",
which can be translated as:
"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away".
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#5Nice pictures, but these are highly constructed.
Have a look at William Christenberry's Box Brownie photographs [1] (and his subsequent models of the buildings).
Also Tartovksy's [2] and Evans' [3] Polaroid photos. Not Tartovsky's portraits but the building details.
I imagine it is a question of definitions.
Meta: trying to pass on a Google Image search string results in epic URLs.
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...
[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...
[3] https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#6"The goal of minimalist art, or photography, is to convey a concept – or an idea – provoke an emotional response, or provide a unique visual experience. Compositional elements must be kept to a minimum, and the ones that are left should be essential for conveying the overall idea, or symbolism, of the photo."
My understanding was always that capital M Minimalism (which this article refers to) was about the objective exploration of form and material - ie specifically free of symbolism, representation and implied meaning
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#7Could not agree more! Even if this is not easy to achieve you always need to repeat that KISS motto in your head while looking through the viewfinder. I believe so much in this principle that this great quote from Charles Mingus is the first sentence of my artist statement [1]: "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity". And the photographer auth…
I also like this quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n'y a plus rien à retrancher", which can be translated as: "Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away".
I feel that way about code too. I love getting rid of stuff that's overly complex or unnecessary without compromising useful functionality.
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#8Minimalism != Simple
This is a highly stylistic aesthetic, and the 'technique' seems gimicky. For better photographs, learn the basics of compositions and how color / size influence weight in a picture.
Two hours with this book and you will be most of the way there! http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-Index-Jim-Krause/dp/1581...
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#9Nice pictures, but these are highly constructed. Have a look at William Christenberry's Box Brownie photographs [1] (and his subsequent models of the buildings). Also Tartovksy's [2] and Evans' [3] Polaroid photos. Not Tartovsky's portraits but the building details. I imagine it is a question of definitions. Meta: trying to pass on a Google Image search string results in epic URLs. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q…
*Tarkovsky.
Re: Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography
#10Minimalism != Simple This is a highly stylistic aesthetic, and the 'technique' seems gimicky. For better photographs, learn the basics of compositions and how color / size influence weight in a picture. Two hours with this book and you will be most of the way there! http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-Index-Jim-Krause/dp/1581...
Seriously. I came here to say almost exactly this. If you go to something like http://reddit.com/r/minimalism, you can find more examples of "minimalism".