With a challenge of creating minimalist images, the first thing to do was find out exactly what that meant. I suspect that even at the end of the month it still means different things to different people!
As much as anything, the challenge put the little grey cells to work. A single object, or part of an object, with plenty of negative space seemed a good place to start. But, as ever, it was also the composition and lighting that proved a challenge. A lone tree atop a fog bound hill, or the highlighting of the tip of a Phillips screwdriver surrounded by darkness, the exercise has again proved useful for getting me outside my comfort zone. Comments from the group members have also been supportive and really appreciated.”
“Knowing that photographing glass is not as easy as one might suspect, I looked forward to meeting the “Glass” challenge. First thing was planning and preparation, and that meant checking Google for videos and articles, including those recommended by Chenxi. Then having decided to photograph a brandy glass there was much trial and error before eventually getting the image I was after, complete with rim lighting.
Post processing showed up every mark of dust on the glass! Note to self to remember that in future. From my trial and error (eg reducing/increasing flash power), I found that very small adjustments could make a huge difference to the image.
With other club members submitting their own images and explaining the thought processes behind their own creations, I was fascinated to try similar experiments myself with different glass objects such as a decanter with fairy lights and green hock wine glasses.”
