CIS PHOTOGRAPHY PART 3

Minimalism

About 6 years ago I took a course on minimalism in photography. Looking through my photos from 2019 -2020, it appears that it is a skill I need to work on some more. Minimalism is not always easy to achieve in India as the streets are crazy. Now I am in New Zealand and it is a challenge that I will repeat, I hope some of you will join me on this journey…

Task 1 – Shoot Nothing

Go shoot nothing. Lots of it. Don’t post it anywhere, but look at it lots. What is the nothing you like the best? Sidewalks, carpet, painted wall, dirty curtains? I really want you to get into this, spend a day taking shots of blank nothingness. I did this for a week, and I am going to go back out later today and do it again. Don’t delete the photos – they may come in useful. Don’t show me your photos, there are there for the experience.

Task 2 – Add ONE Thing

If you have spent time on task one, you should know what kind of nothing you like. The sky is often a good place to start, even though it is often a complex array of clouds and light. Now I ant you to place just one element, or ‘thing’ in the frame. It can be a leaf, a face or a bit of trash. You can look for this phenomenon, or you can set the frame up. This technique will lead to towards photos that you will be proud to hang on your wall.

Gear

For this challenge you may use any camera you like. I recommend using a DSLR camera if you can. If you want to know more about different types of cameras, I have written a post HERE, that will help you.

Feedback

Remember to upload your images to our google classroom, and to post to Instagram using #CIS_Photography101. I have given some of you feedback and will continue to work on telling you how to improve your photos. Needless to say, I was really impressed with your kitchen photos, you showed great creativity. I will have a ZOOM session next Monday at 11.00am India time. During this session I will critique a number of your images, as well as answer any questions you have.

Please post your 3 best minimalist images to our google classroom and to Instagram.

Questions?

Please leave questions in the comment section. I will answer everything. Promise!

Take care and keep clicking, Chris

If you enjoy following this blog, feel free to buy me a coffee! Support is appreciated.