So... a few photo geek friends and I were at happy hour and were talking about minimalism. One question was "Can you create a successful image that is almost entirely black (or white but I'm a dark, moody chic!)?" My attempt to answer this was to shoot dark red flowers in black and white resulting in essentially a black flower on a black background. Now the question is ... are these successful? What do you think?
Along with feedback, I don't mind people posting your own "almost entirely white or black" images in the comments.
Thanks!
Of the three, I like the first the best. It faces into the frame, making my eye want to look at it for longer. I think it is a perfectly successful image. As for my own nearly all black image, I'll leave these two. Neither of these take it as far as yours though.
Nice, nice, very nice. And I agree with Matthew, the first one hits it out of the park.
I agree with the others the first is the best. I really like that one. Second one is pretty nice too. Third one isn't really working for me though. The bright spot seems a little blown out to me. I like the idea of making a pic as black as possible. I shoot a lot of dark shots but most have some color. I'll play around with a few and see what I can come up with,
The second one speaks to me a little more; but it's all personal tastes.
Here are two shots of mine, one almost white and the other almost black; but I guess you know that already by seeing them while reading this post. heh.
White was taken out at the Marsh and the cone flowers are originally yellow. Black was a Orange Cosmos where the background just happened to have been black when I took the shot outside. For the Black photo I just desaturated the color, I didn't crush the blacks or shadows at all. (okay well it was 99.5% black and I crushed it the extra percent) :)
Wonderful images Joe, each striking in its own respect.
Agreed! Theae are both sooo nice!
Alan, Roth, thank you both. :)
Really liking the 1st one best and most successful. Beautifully done. Adding one of mine of a Jane Magnolia bloom from this past spring.
I love this!!!
Thanks so much, Ruth!
My black shots.
These are totally awesome!
Thanks Ruth!
I enjoy the contrast between the black and highlights in the first. This provides a distinct sense of form at the petal edges that is largely missing in 2 & 3.
Thanks for the feedback Alan!
Hi Ruth! Good to see you posting. I think all three images work very well, and I prefer them in tho order you've posted them, partly because as you go down the page, there is more contrasting paler grey, reducing the minimalist effect.
In fact, I think you could go a fair bit darker with the first one, and still have an entirely viable image. I don't know if my edit will be "readable" after upload.
The concept, composition and processing are exemplary as ever. You have a particular knack for composition, certainly evident here. Maybe we both subscribe to the idea of asymmetry in composition, although not all do. Reading suggests that asymmetry is generally valued in Asian art historically more than in the "West".
Although I was after a fairly naturalistic rather than minimalist effect with these images of my own, I liked the abstraction the high key introduced.The waterfall image was intended to convey how it actually looked that day. Both could be much paler and "work".
Thanks for the thumbs up Chris! I am a diehard enthusiast for Asian art and literature so your observation is not surprising. Thanks for the support.
Your waterfalls have always been at the top of my favorites list. You hit an all levels with this one - composition, drama, techinical ... perfection. The tree is lovely too but its hard to put something after the waterfall!
Thanks, Ruth - that's very kind of you!
New avatar complementing (...but I'm a dark, moody c...!).
This kind of composition is new to me but here somehow I liked the dark more...!
Thanks Vijay! I've been sinking intot the world if phone wallpapers and this version would be a prefect orientation for this! Glad you did this!
Actually, I like the third the most, possibly because it is more abstract than the other two. Also, it appears to be emerging out of the darkness whereas the other two look more like a dark overlay has been added masking out the rest of the image.
Thanks PK! I also thought this one had a sense of 'emerging'. Thanks for the comment!