2014 Challenge, Week 20: LANDSCAPE – MINIMALIST

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(Note: This theme selection is one of Trevor’s; I’m just writing the post for him this week.)

This week, we are back to a Landscape theme. This time, we are going to look for less. Minimalism is a style that uses pared-down design elements, reducing the subject to the essentials.

In this example, the subject — a tree on a hill — has been isolated by silhouetting it against the sky. A relatively large amount of the frame is empty sky, and the hill is quite dark.

“Minimalist Landscape” by Gianluca Annicchiarico

Minimalism is often related to abstract work. This aerial image is a good example of minimalism and has elements of an abstract work. It is a landscape, but the distance from the subject reduces the detail to the essentials — blocks of color divided by lines.

“DSCF1740” by neil banas

When shooting this week, keep in mind that environmental elements that you may normally think of as unfavorable may work for you. In this image of a hay bale, the thick fog  helps to strip the subject down to the bare essentials, concealing other objects that may be in the background.

“Hay” by Donnie Nunley

Large stretches of sand or water can also lend themselves to a minimalist landscape image. In these cases, taking advantage of the textures, shadows, or horizon can lead to an interesting and stripped down result.

“White” by Éamonn O’Brien-Strain

“Untitled” by Tammisto

You could also try to incorporate objects from the built environment into a minimalist landscape image. This can give a photograph a sense of loneliness or isolation.

“Untitled” by Alexandre Legault

As always, please post/share a photo you take THIS WEEK. We love your old photos, but not for the challenge. The point of the PhotoChallenges is for you to set out to create a new photo, to share with us all this week. Share them with us all at our Google+ Community, Facebook Group, and/or our Flickr Group.

About Steve Troletti

I'm a Location Scout, Editorial, Nature, Wildlife and Environmental Photographer based in Malibu, California. I specialize in Nature and Urban Nature photography including Infrared Landscapes. The Bulk of my work takes place in the Los Angeles, California area, Greater Montreal Region, Canada, Switzerland, France and Varese in Northern Italy. Ethical wildlife photography is the main priority and focus of my work. A minimum disturbance of the animals, their habitat and the environment is my top priority. This applies as much to total wilderness areas as it does to urban nature environments. Ongoing education of environmental issues and building awareness for the protection of wildlife and wilderness areas around the world is what drives me to document the beauty that surrounds us.