Simplicity

 
Artists try to simplify their art to the bare essence of what they are trying to convey to the viewer. This is not as simple as it seems. The main subject of an artwork can be easy to spot such as the portrait of a person. In abstract works, the subject may be more subtle and open to many interpretations. These interpretations may not have been intended consciously by the artist, but nonetheless, they exist. Photography is no different.

Often in photography, we are not able to manipulate our environment in the same manner as a painter or a sculptor is able to. We have to take the world as it exists and first find the essence of a scene or subject and then determine how to convey that simple essence that we see into a photographic frame.

People sometimes wonder why I’m taking a picture of some odd object when what they think is the primary scene is someplace else. So I go ahead and take plenty of pictures of what other people think is interesting along with making pictures of what interests me. This way I don’t seem too odd. Shapes, textures, lines and shadows really interest me. Documenting the totality of my surroundings is not that interesting to me.

In the photograph above, my wife and I were wandering around during a local festival. I took the obligatory photos of the festival (most of which I deleted when I got home), but then we sat down to enjoy the good weather.

I loved the way my wife’s arm rested over the bench where we were sitting so I made one picture before she moved her arm. To me the essence of this picture is purely in the design. It’s the gentle drape of her arm and hand on the bench, and then the diagonal line of the bench that intersects her arm. The bracelet acts as a curved design element which complements the curve of her arm and wrist.

You may see the photograph differently than the way I see it.