the simple things

magicbastarder

this got me thinking again how a lot of the shots i like best are very simple (or even 'empty') ones; especially if i'm looking at a shot with a view to hanging it. just curious what people would think are their best simple shots?

here's one of mine i like a lot - and i can easily understand why someone might think it unredeemably bland:

mrboswell

magicbastarder wrote: »

this got me thinking again how a lot of the shots i like best are very simple (or even 'empty') ones; especially if i'm looking at a shot with a view to hanging it. just curious what people would think are their best simple shots?

here's one of mine i like a lot - and i can easily understand why someone might think it unredeemably bland:

I think I know what you mean but it doesn't have enough definition for me.
Very interesting considering that most people look for a subject in an image.

I like the way it make you look into it to find something but keep moving around the image to find it.

artyeva

i'll see your bland photo of sea and sky and raise you a bland photo of sea and sky.... and a bird....:p

elven

you can have sky:



you can have sea:



...but you've to ask very nicely to get them both, together

magicbastarder

101001

oooohh... bastarder that last shot is magic. The first one would be better with a little more contast. But thats just the opinion of a talentless ginger hack

101001

and an example of my hackery... complete with sensor dirt

Id like it more if i the horizon was higher up and actually horizontal

AnimalRights

Good thread Bastarder, not surte if my picture is simple enough but I really like it.

Chorcai

DaireQuinlan

Where the wild things are

sineadw

Oo how'd I miss this! Great thread..



I have loads of these types of shots - love them

Ghost Train

magicbastarder

sineadw

superflyninja

sNarah

I like simple. Simples!
Less is more and that.

carefull for the eyes now - stripped everything in the image and threw in wacky colour. I love them. Wouldn't go hanging them on the wall though...

artyeva

sNarah wrote: »

Wouldn't go hanging them on the wall though...

i would - specially the first one

dakar

DaireQuinlan

Actually, looking back through my flickr stream, I have a pile of similar ones ...







I actually quite like the first two. The third one not so much...

NothingMan

sNarah

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Actually, looking back through my flickr stream, I have a pile of similar ones ...
I actually quite like the first two. The third one not so much...

Ha, I actually quite like numero 3

Yv

Interesting thread - I think it's possible to get a lot of atmosphere in a shot by keeping the composition / content of a photo simple. The photo in the first post kind of reminds me of that Hiroshi Sugimoto photo on the cover of one of U2's recent albums, which is a pretty powerful image.

Some lovely shots in this thread.

Here's one of my "simple" ones

Fenster

For further viewing, I give you the master of bland and boring: http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html

artyeva

Fenster wrote: »

For further viewing, I give you the master of bland and boring: http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html

huh????

i don't think these fit in with the initial idea of this thread at all!!

DaireQuinlan

artyeva wrote: »

huh????

i don't think these fit in with the initial idea of this thread at all!!

Although Yvs wallpaper in that shot looks eerily like the background of the Martin Parr site ...

sineadw

Yv

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Although Yvs wallpaper in that shot looks eerily like the background of the Martin Parr site ...

Haha, so it does! Strange...

Fenster wrote: »

For further viewing, I give you the master of bland and boring: http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html

In my view, the work of Martin Parr is a different kettle of fish to what this thread is about. I think the thread is concerned with photos that are simple / "banal" in form, with little significance on what is actually in the pictures, whereas Martin Parr focusses on communicating the banality of everyday life by taking formally complex photos of banal everyday things. For example, the reason I posted that photo of mine above (I don't want to read anything into anyone else's :$) is because I like how the horizontals & verticals work together with the pattern of the wallpaper, & the textures really appeal to me. That's all there is to it (in this context). Martin Parr, on the other hand, would take a photo of a kid eating an ice-cream at the seaside in order to make us think about all the ordinary run-of-the-mill stuff going on around us, & to turn something banal into a statement of sorts; however, I don't think the photo of the kid eating the icecream would fit in with the theme of this thread.

All of this is my own opinion, of course - got a bit carried away there, sorry!

Morrisseeee

sheep........

ike

Morrisseeee

grass..........

Morrisseeee

....X.....

DaireQuinlan

I managed to unearth another one. I'm all out now though



There's a bird in this one too ...

ike

sineadw

artyeva

baby and crumble

10 sec exposure of a plane coming in to land...

humberklog

artyeva

term

dakar

One from this morning

swingking

Promac

Just another sky but I think it fits. Nice idea for a thread. Cheers.

DaireQuinlan

ah Ha. I'd forgotten about these :rolleyes:

Chorcai

cian1500ww

No sky in this, sorry to disappoint :P

magicbastarder

stabo

DaireQuinlan

absolutely the last one, I promise

stabo

IamBlip

Fajitas!