This minimalist set is concerned with light, medium, dark as the sub-theme.
Light ~ For this shot I was shooting at 500mm @ f/7.1 and the dragonfly was at the closest focal for the lens while the siding of light grey house in the near background provided a solid color in the midday sun.
Medium ~ I used a 24-70 @70mm. I like the simplicity and the range of light from bright to dark without blowing out or crushing. The morning photographer is telling the story of his own.
Dark ~ I chose to walk through a dense forest in hopes of finding a minimalist composition. I noticed the last of the digitalis (Foxglove) and is a few places the midday sun peaked through the forest and cast harsh light on the flowers. I composed the shot so the trunks of two Douglas Fir trees in the shade provided a dark background. I exposed for the flower at the expense of the background to achieve what I was looking for.
It was difficult not snapping more and more photos for the August challenge.
Dragonfly is cool. The second is the best. (Though I seem to see that the horizon/level leans slightly downward to the right. But that's just pedantic me!)
I honestly thought I wasn't emptying the ocean and it was due to haze, but a second closer look reveals the truth.
These are really good shots, and I enjoyed reading your post breakdown. Good work capturing August's challenge again. I've been keeping my eye open for a minimalist shot during walks, but keep getting distracted by so many other things.