Minimalist photography is a form of

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

that is distinguished by austere simplicity. It emphasizes sparseness and careful composition, shying away from overabundance of color, patterns, or information.

Etymology

Minimalist photography arises from the notion of

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

in art, which is a style used by many 20th century artists. This style emphasizes the use of a minimal number of compositional elements: color,

objects Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...

, shapes and texture. The aim of minimalist photography is to express a concept, in order to bring forth a distinctive visual experience or elicit an emotional response from the viewer. In the world of photography, it is viewed as an exceptionally intuitive and personal concept, entrusting interpretation and understanding to the audience perspective of the art .

History

Minimalist photography arose in 1960s America from the minimalist

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

. As the name denotes, minimalism uses a limited amount of elements to achieve a restricted or simplified end product. While minimalism may manifest in many ways in other art forms, minimalist photography usually tends to make great use of negative space, employs sparse composition, and centers a strong singular focal point. Over the decades, minimalist photographers such as Michael Kenna, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Grant Hamilton, and Mark Meyer have risen to prominence in the art world and gained fame for their minimalist photography.

Technique

Minimalist photography focuses on simplicity and its artistic style can be encapsulated by the quote, "less is more." Minimalist photographers achieve this effect by casting aside all the unnecessary components in creating their works. This principle is demonstrated in various minimalist photographs, for example, when capturing a mountain or an ocean on camera, the entirety of the scenery will be presented as one big vast space. The vacancy and bareness of the space shown enables the audience to imagine and craft their own version of interpretation and comprehension, instead of including the photographer's own inputs and insights. In order to expand and concentrate on the expansive space, it is crucial to minimize contradicting elements such as people or distracting buildings. Doing so conveys a sense of barrenness and desolation that creates a theatrical atmosphere and visual experience. Therefore, a minimalist photograph is often captured early in the morning, sunrise or dark at night. This ensures that the scene is not filled with crowds and that the overall composition appears neat and simplified.

Minimalist photography

"As an approach in photography, minimalism or minimalistic photography could be taken by the photographer in all genres. No matter your are a portrait, architecture, landscape etc. photographer, minimalist photos are always an option as long as you have a minimal look toward your surroundings" -Milad Safabakhsh, Founder of Minimalist Photography Awards. Minimalist photography often pays attention to one single subject in its composition, using nature as its background. Some representative subject matters include geometric patterns, lines and textures, which can range between an apple, a mountain or a bridge, to name a few examples. Although this style of photography is derived from the art movement in the early 1950s, its impact is exhibited in various forms of

digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is sto ...

Etymology

History

Technique

Minimalist photography

Gallery

References

See also