This week’s guest host is Mr. Philo of the Philosophy Through Photography blog. He wrote in his challenge post, “I considered selecting simplicity since the modern world is so stressful and chaotic that we are losing the fundamental clarity and simplicity that allow us to concentrate on what is really important.” He then provided half a dozen ideas on how to simplify our photographic compositions to get us started. You can read his entire challenge post and get inspiration for joining in the challenge here.
In my opening photo, I used several means to simplify my photo of a desert poppy. I emphasized the subject by isolating the blossom from the background using a zoom lens at full extension and stepping away from the flower. In editing the image, I used a square crop to remove the extraneous background, and then in Adobe Lightroom, I used the HSL sliders in Saturation mode to remove all of the colors except the reddish pink of the blossom itself.
For this challenge, I chose to create some black-and-white images from my gallery. This allium blossom was also isolated from the background by extending the zoom and standing away from the subject. I used Silver-Efex 3 to do the conversion and picked a low-key preset to start with. Once I tweaked it into black-and-white, the conversion made the noise in the image more noticeable. I exported it into Luminar Neo and used the Noiseless and the SuperSharp tools to enhance the image further.
This shot was shrouded in clouds and all of that big sky created simplicity by a large area of negative space. After exporting to Silver-Efex 3, I discovered there was a lot more definition in the clouds than it appeared in the original image. In a sense, this image failed in being simplified as the conversion I completed actually added more detail than when I started. I guess they can’t all be perfect examples, but I like how the image turned out anyway.
To make up for my previous “mistake”, I submit for your approval this image which I purposely processed into high-key black-and-white leaving the foggy sky indistinct for much more negative space.
Another example of negative space came from my visit to La Jolla, California. The beach was teeming with life, both human and animal. I was composing an image when I noticed a gull heading right toward my camera. I quickly recomposed to focus on the gull as it came toward me and the auto-focus on my Nikon D7000 captured the subject in perfect sharpness. The f/5.6 lens setting and 1/800 shutter speed provided a pleasingly fuzzy background and “stopped” the bird in mid-flight. If the photo has a flaw, it’s that the bird appears to have been “cut and pasted” into the image with Photoshop. I swear it was captured live.
At Carlito Springs, New Mexico, we were hiking a public trail. Along the way, we noticed that someone had placed roses at strategic points along the trail. I suspect that some kind of wedding or anniversary hike was in progress at some point and the roses were trail markers so that people who might be unfamiliar with hiking trails wouldn’t get lost. Isolating the subject added the needed simplicity to this photo.
In his list of tips, Mr. Philo mentions the use of patterns, shapes, or directional lines to simplify a composition. The easily malleable sandstone formations around Page Arizona have weathered the centuries as mother nature sculpted some of her best work. This large sandstone monolith created an interesting texture in the strong vertical lines created over the eons.
Lines can help identify objects. I’ve opined on the subject before, but the lines of today’s automobiles are of little assistance in determining the make and year of many vehicle models. They are all designed for efficiency and the combination of aerodynamic principles and computer-aided design leaves a distressing sameness. When I was a young man, I could have told you the exact year and model of the 1950s-era Ford in the image above. Today, not so much.
One of my first thoughts for this challenge involves a new hotel in Fargo, North Dakota. The Jasper Hotel opened in the summer of 2021. For years, it was the biggest construction project in the city. I decided that I’d like to take a photo of the building, do a black-and-white treatment, and add it as a photo for this week’s challenge. I used Lightroom Classic to isolate the subject, tweak the exposure, and convert the image to monochrome. Then I exported it into Luminar Neo to touch up the sky, overexposing the sky on a cloudy day to create a stronger contrast with the building. Finally, I used Neo’s SuperSharp tool to give the lines in the image a crisp appearance.
All of these images are available in HD via my Flickr site. Click on any image, or you can find the Flickr album here.
Thank you, Philo, for taking the time to guest-host this week. It reminded me that as a photographer, sometimes it’s best to follow the K.I.S.S. principle. Thanks to Ritva for last week’s Kitchen Inspiration challenge, and I look forward to next week when guest host Dawn Miller challenges us to put up Fences (photographically speaking) on her site here. If you’re new here and want to join in the challenge, (or even if you’re not new around here), you can find out how to join in here.
John Steiner
Flare Legend Adventures
Superb selection of simplicity, John ๐ The glacier bay shot is a perfect example of calm in a crazy world ๐
Thanks, Jez!
Quite brilliant John, B&W works so well for the challenge ๐
Thanks, Brian! I am such a fan of B-W.
Brilliant examples – and B&W is a choice I contemplated too. Loved Glacier Bay and I think it is perfect for simplicity.
Thanks, A-C. I like to re-edit my posts the day before publication, and I forgot to do that yesterday.
I ended up rewriting several paragraphs to remove redundancy as I reviewed the comments this morning. ๐
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John, Your collection is fantastic!
What stunning images!
I appreciate how meticulously you explained to us how you edited to achieve the basic yet beautiful result.
Both the desert poppy and the rose are beautiful. Poppies are associated with creativity and eternal sleep!
Glacier Bay is the winner; one can always appreciate its majestic beauty and how it brings serenity!
Kayaker’s click is captivating! Amidst the tranquil serenity of nature, one finds solace and escape from the demands of our daily routine.
Beautiful capture of a bird in flight!
You’ve cleverly used the directional/vertical lines of the Rock monolith to draw our attention to the edge.
The Jasper Hotel click is one-of-a-kind, with various contrasts complementing one another.
Thank you very much for your fascinating examples!
Thanks, Philo! I really appreciate your comments. As I noted to A-C a few moments ago, I ended up re-editing the text to remove some redundancy. Looks like I need to spend more time on writing. ๐
You are welcome, John.
All great, John! The kayakers and the allium are my favorites.
Thanks, Nes! By the way, I stopped by your About page and also read your photo journey.
I, too, cannot draw a straight line so photography became my hobby. Ironically, my son is a fabulous artist with pen and ink. ๐
Wow! Good for your son and congratulations!
Funny that we both have the same โpathโ from drawing to photography. ๐
Thanks for stopping by my page!
This is an amazing post John. My favorite, and I agree with others, is the Glacier Bay image. And the look on the gull’s face is so funny. It’s like he’s asking, “What are you looking at?” Well done!!
Thanks, Anne! The gull didn’t attack me, but he flew close enough to me to let me know he was annoyed. I think I heard him say as he went by, “Get off my lawn!” >grin<
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All great examples but if I were picking favourites I’d go for the allium, kayakers and the rock monolith ๐
You seagull almost matches mine. I love the car handle and the rock in Page, AZ ๐
I thought of the similarity when I saw your post. That car handle is a bit unusual. It has great leading lines, but they donโt lead the eye anywhere. ๐
Terrific post John. Loved your flowers and Glacier Bay especially. Appreciate your sharing the processes as well
Thanks, Tina. I will continue to share processing info. I have been getting lots of positive comments on that.
All your examples are excellent, John, but my eyes are drawn to the opening image, the kayakers, and the bit of the car.
Thanks, Janet!
Excellent photos for this theme. I love the B&W images especially! A cool shot of the seagull.
Thanks, Amy. I decided to do the B-W items on a whim.
Excellent photography, and creativity for the challenge John.I love that you decided to used some black and white images.I loved the mood of the Glacier Bay image and with the Allium you captured stunning detail, seen better with b&w.I have to say my favorite photo was the seagull. Not just because of the simplicity and clarity, but because of its facial expression.
Thanks, Donna. It was fun to create some new images for the challenge.
I love the monos!!
Thanks, Nora!
GREAT selections.
Thanks, John!
Simplicity is beautiful, and hard to do in photography. Youโre very creative with your photography, John.
Thanks, Dan. I had a great time preparing for my response.
Loved your poppy photo, John. Perfect example of simplicity.
Thanks. I took that photo in 2012, and at some point, I decided to do the black-and-white mod for a different challenge. It really worked well for this challenge.
These are terrific, and I especially love the leading lines and how you explain the process in each shot (I still haven’t moved beyond pressing the camera button on my phone or point-and-shoot Canon)
Thanks, Stephanie! I continue to be a point-and-shooter but since buying Luminar products starting in 2018, I’ve had much fun experimenting with changing photos. It is so much easier to learn than Photoshop or Lightroom.
I might need to try that! Thank you–hadn’t even realized there was an alternative and I am NOT able to navigate photoshop
Luminar Neo is by Skylum software. they have options for rental or purchase of Luminar Neo. I chose the purchase option. I see they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
In re-reading my comment, it appears I am coming off as a shill for their product. I have no affiliation with Skylum other than I have been using their products since 2018. Their products have improved greatly over the years.
Glacier bay is a perfect shot, John. All excellent but that one is unforgettable.
Thanks, Sofia! It was an OK shot in color, but the loss of color was a big improvement.