Disdain Detail

In praise of uber-minimalism in photography:

Monochrome is sublime, because it distills the details into a pure, simple image.

You can see in these photos I shot, I applied a Gaussian blur, then made digital cutouts (in the spirit of Matisse), except with an Asian calligraphy twist — only digital black ink, and white.


I think this is the ultimate way to study composition for images. When we think about an image (a picture on a flat canvas), there are certain proportions of the dark vs light. There are certain shapes, forms, and movements in the image.


In praise of small thumbnails

The good thing about seeing photos on phones is this:

The image must work as a small thumbnail.

When you see an image as a small thumbnail, it is the ultimate test whether the composition is strong or weak.

A strong composition will succeed as a small thumbnail.


Extreme high contrast

Shoot RICOH GR II, RAW, and add a ERIC KIM MONOCHROME PRESET to the picture. Use a high contrast monochrome JPEG preview, to start seeing reality in either two tones:

Black or white.

Disdain details. Crush the blacks.

Think abstract — simple shapes and forms. See if you can evoke strong emotions from a simple picture.

Seek strength in composition through simplicity.

ERIC