365~ 30th May ~ 5th June

Posted in 365, Fuji, FujiX-T2, photography, UncategorizedTagged , , , , ,

This week we are concentrating on ‘style’ and this time minimalism. We did negative space a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be two sides of the same coin, but no matter, whatever works. A low annoyance factor this week, I’ve quite enjoyed this set of prompts.

Day 150 ~ Opposites. The minimalist style uses extreme simplicity for maximum impact. It emphasizes sparseness by using the smallest number of objects in your image. Patterns, lines, shapes, and color can be the the main focus or another way to further highlight your subject. Now is a good time to follow the Rule of Thirds.  When you place your subject on the third it will have all the space it needs to shine! So remember as you go through Minimalist week… keep it simple and only include what you need! Less is More! 

I ruminated on opposites to shoot and came up with shoes, right & left, small & large, light & dark.

Day 151 ~ Guilt~free.~ My guilty pleasure is a nice glass of wine in the evenings.  I can’t wait to see what you all have to share – and remember, less is more.  

What a grand idea I thought.

Day 152 ~ Sunshine. ~ When I was a kid, I once asked my aunt if she’d come swimming with me.  She said, “No, there’s no sun today.”  My response was, “Then, we can pretend it’s sunny.”  She said that I always looked at the positive side of life.  She’s right!  If it’s not sunny where you are today, just pretend.  Use whatever light you can find for your photo. Golfing on a sunny day is my idea of a great time.  To keep with the minimalist theme, I grabbed a photo of my golf ball on my bright pink tee.  I made sure there was very little else in the photo so that it would stand out.I hope your day is full of sunshine and if it’s not, just pretend!

Well as luck would have it we’re having some sunnier days in Old Blighty and it was lovely to sit outside and hear the blackbird singing away. Actually everybody and their dogs were having a party in their gardens so it was really noisy outside and hearing the blackbird was a bit of a struggle. My pal Mary Jo writes Haiku’s so I found myself inspired to write…

Outside the birds sing ,
people having Barbecues.
I wish they’d shut up.

Pretty good for a novice I thought 🤣 I digress, onwards with the pics!

Day 153 ~ Innovative. ~This week, we are practicing our Minimalist photography. How do you take something simple and make it innovative? I find that adding textures (both in the photographing and the editing process) makes a plain photograph more interesting. For the example photo, I draped some cheesecloth on my background to give a textural component to the backdrop. This minimalist photo of a single flower now has a lot of depth and character. Try experimenting with different backgrounds and adding simple elements to enhance your subject but not distract from it.You can also play around in post processing by adding textures in photoshop, playing with light and contrast in lightroom, and experimenting with filters in photo apps.Let’s see how you innovate your photo today by making a minimalist photo your own style. 

Yep, I got out a kimidoll and a little carnation and added bokeh and a texture, job done. Winning at Minimalism!

Day 154 ~ Prompt Free. Today is a blank canvas for which all of the other prompts have prepared you. Keep our eyes open and have fun!

The cats have been playing outside mostly so I decided I’d let them off modelling this time and I’d do a flower instead as I’ve got some lovely ones about the house at the minute. I especially like this rose which has lemon yellow leaves tipped with pink, quite unusual so I bought two of them, and surrounded them with pink carnations.

Day 155 ~ Soul. ~ Your soul is the part of you that consists of your mind, character, thoughts, and feelings. How to photograph your soul?  Well, let us just go with a part of it.  The day was a cloudy summer day and I noticed these birds sitting on the wires.  To me it looks like music lines and notes.  That speaks to my soul. If you do take a photo with lines remember to try and get them straight on the horizon or the vertical; just a little rotating in processing is all it takes to make the photo look fabulous. What is speaking to your soul today?

Well it was nice while it lasted and now back to airy fairy concept stuff, sigh. I always call a nice cup of tea medicine for the soul so that was my first thought. Music is the soul of life was my second, and my book The Soul of the Camera by David duChemin the third. I managed to combine all three for the picture, though you can’t see the music as I was playing a CD on the stereo in the shed studio.

Day 156 ~ Yarn. ~ It’s song lyric day today and the prompt is YARN. I immediately thought of Carol King and her Tapestry album from 1971 and I decided to recreate the album cover!  Fellow 365 Picture Today alumni and friend, Mary, agreed to model for me in her window seat. We couldn’t find a real cat so we improvised….Find a song about yarn, wool, string, rope, or thread and take a picture of it. Remember to include the lyrics either by adding text or writing the lyrics in your comments. 

Yarn is such a weird word I think. Here Mrs. Cocktail Dress means wool and the like, but it can also mean telling a good story, or having a good natter. I suppose a song tells a good story mostly so the two are a good combination. The song ‘SIlver Threads and Golden Needles was written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes. It was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956 and has been covered by many bands and singers since, but none as great as the wonderful Linda Ronstadt.

So that’s a wrap for this week, not too bad which is a relief after sodding selfie week. Stay tooned for next time when we are doing colour week, Black and White.

for fans of Lord Vincent, he’s making a guest appearance on my other blog tomorrow 😊

56 thoughts on “365~ 30th May ~ 5th June”

  6. There’s a lot of pink here for someone who doesn’t do pink. The pink ones are my favourites.

    I love the haiku and it’s very much something that I could have used here this week. I don’t mind people making a bit of noise, but I do mind them shouting. There’s no need at all for me to hear the conversations of the people who live three doors away.

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  11. A very intriguing post. Your photos are excellent and I have enjoyed reading the minimalist style. Your writing with each day is interesting. Thank you for showing me a different way of blogging, you are very creative.

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  12. I like pretending too. I prefer to pretend, however, that I am a billionaire and can fly around the world in my jet balloon.

    What is a kimidoll? I mean, I can “what” it is, but you know what I mean.

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    1. They are kind of spirituaal Japanese dolls, come in differrent sizes. The ig ones cost a bomb but I have a few of the liitle key-rings which don’t. This one is Aiko “My spirit is loving and endearing.
      Your endearing and affectionate ways reveal my spirit. By showing your sweet nature, and sharing the gifts of your spirit, you bring joy and love to the lives of many.”
      They’ve come a lng way since being Samurai and chopping peoples heads off.

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  18. I always love seeing what you come with for the prompts. This week, I was really partial to the blackbird and the soft colors of the Kimi doll. Also love the spark of silver and gold in the last one. Also, you should keep writing Haikus. That one was fun!

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  19. Oh, all these photos win at the minimalism challenge! I especially enjoyed the ‘innovative,’ ‘the guilt-free,’ but most definitely the ‘sunshine’ crow! I love your haiku, because it perfectly matches your feeling and evokes that in me as well. Too much of a good thing is maddening. Thanks for the mention, Fraggle! 🙂

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