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Mobile Photography – StreetWise – Third Challenge Results – Minimalism

Welcome to our Third StreetWise Challenge Showcase – ‘Minimalism’.  We are thrilled to share it with you!

Anyone can make the simple complicated; creativity makes the complicated simple” Charles Mingus.

We were thrilled by your photographs submitted for our StreetWise Minimalism Challenge. This theme was indeed challenging, and Lee and I were so happy to see the wonderful displays of ‘creativity’ utilised by our group to come up with an eclectic array of images.

Thank you so much for participating and rising to the occasion to inspire us once again with your photographs. We hope you enjoy the showcase as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

Many congratulations to the following artists for being featured in this showcase including:

Elaine Taylor, Connie Gardiner Rosenthal, Julia Nathanson, Paul Yan, Liliana Schwitter, Dominique Torrent, Armineh Hovanesian, Sally Ann Field, Stephanie L.P., rorofot, Kate Zari Roberts, Christine Mignon, Rene Valencia, RK, Susan Rennie, Roger Guetta, Ocean Morisset, Ger ven den Elzen, Giulia Baita. Ile Monte, Nick Kenrick, be-mo-re [hopes].

‘Charlie, British Museum’ – Elaine Taylor

Elaine Taylor’s image is a nice example of minimalism photography in which less is definitely more.

It is both a simple and beautiful photograph with a large swath of empty frame and a single person walking through it. The most important element is the boy as he makes his way, technology in hand. What’s interesting about Elaine’s photo are the subtle shapes of architectural design and construction upon the wall and in particular the geometric shadows in the negative space. Both immediately place the figure in a larger context. They give the sense of how humans occupy space, as well as create it. In fact, the background in relation to the boy gives the viewer a good idea of architecture on a large scale while not being distracting or competing for attention with the main subject.

Well done Elaine! Great shot!

 

‘Metro in Barcelona’ – Connie Gardiner Rosenthal

Connie’s ‘Metro in Barcelona’ depicts a busy public space, and yet she has found a perfect niche in which she is able to boil down that busyness to simple lines that do not distract from the main subject, a girl waiting for the train.

Connie creates a very nice, as well as, interesting balance between detail and negative space. The viewer quickly takes in the small glimpse of track, the clean lines of the bench, the yellow wall, and an architectural opening through which Connie’s keen eye has found her subject. Yet, none of these details are competing with the subject. They simply give context and scale to the girl, who is all in black. Our eyes instead are drawn to her vibrant red hair giving her prominence against this simple yet referenced composition.

Wonderful image, Connie!

 

‘Untitled’ – Christine Mignon

Christine’s image is a beautifully toned black and white photo where the dramatic architecture provides the backdrop for the subject ascending the almost seemingly oversized proportion of the stairs. There is not a lot of contrast to the main shadow that borders the stairs, but the dark trees and the small puff of white cloud at the top of the stairs help to punctuate the radial composition in it’s center, leading the viewer’s sight to follow the dark toned subject up the stairs with him.

Well done, Christine!

‘My Old Friend’ – Rene Valencia

Rene’s photo is wonderfully composed in that it is very balanced by the tree to the right and the pole to the left. The lines on the sidewalk also help to draw us to the subjects initially. It is from there we begin to notice some interesting details.

The light on the woman’s arm on the right accentuate it against her dark shirt, which mirrors the shape and tones of the palm tree’s trunk.

There is almost an illusion that the bench on the right side is missing legs and that the women are mysteriously floating.

When one looks closer at the background behind them, you begin to notice that there is quite a dramatic sky going on, and yet ironically, the women are facing away from the ocean view, and seem to be quite involved in a conversation – as one would be with ‘an old friend.’

Fabulous, Rene!

StreetWise Minimalism Showcase

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Ilana Buch-Akoundi is an Interior Designer with a background in fine arts, and a passion for mobile photography. Influenced by classical art and literature, she views mobile photography as not simply capturing moments as they happen, but as a marriage of dreams and visions from inner life and reality. Street photography, as a composite emerging from the speed of life, and what’s resonating within. Born in New York City where she still resides with her husband and two children, Buch-Akoundi recently founded hipstaNYC dedicated to Hipstamatic images of New York City, where people from all over the world can showcase their photographs of NYC. She has had photographs featured in mobile photography websites and web-magazines as well as international shows. Lee Atwell has been passionate about the art, science and magic of photography since the time she was a child – at which time her father had converted a small bathroom into a darkroom. For the past few years, she been captivated by the versatility, convenience, and creative potential of mobile photography. In street photography, she enjoys the challenge of capturing the unexpected and also the necessity of being present moment to moment with the surrounding environment – whether it is the continual shifting of light and shadows or the instantaneous and fleeting expressions and postures of people on the street. She has received several international photography awards and has had photographs featured in publication, mobile photography websites and web-magazines. She has also had photos exhibited in several cities – in the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Hungary, Belgium and Portugal. Atwell also teaches yoga and owns a yoga studio in Seattle with her husband.

One Comment

  • Elaine Taylor

    Thank you so much for including my image here. I absolutely love the words you used to describe my photo.

    Its such a great showcase to be part of.