While the Isle of Man Photographic Society is unable to meet, we are holding monthly ’challenges’.

The challenge for March was chosen by member Janet Henry. She chose ’minimalistic’ as the topic.

We now have all the entries on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IOMPS and some of them on our website, www.iomps.com

So here are a few, with some comments and tips on what minimalism means and how to create suitable photographs.

Leonardo da Vinci said: ’Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’

There should be nothing in the image that distracts from the subject the photographer intends the viewer to see. But you need to consider a few other points to make your photo stand out from the rest.

You need to choose an interesting subject.

In our members case, this should be something that interests you, personally, as we are not trying to be commercial, we only have ourselves to please.

Our club has many talented Nature photographers, so flowers and birds tend to feature prominently as favourite subjects.

Composition is important.

Most usually a minimalist photo will have one object, and quite a lot of ’space’ filled with a background which is not distracting or busy.

Sometimes the subject and the background together combine to tell a story, or evoke an emotion, such as a solitary figure on a beach, or a single boat on an expanse of water.

Sometimes a repeating pattern, which in itself might be either too busy, or boring and lacking variety, can be used to great effect as a background to a single subject, a person, an animal, an object, or a small group.

Another important addition to a good composition is to try to have a ’leading line’.

Put simply, this is usually something going from the front of the image towards the subject. Most usually a path, a track, a line of something such as stones, or footsteps.

But in a minimalist image, the lines in the background can work well.

Clouds in a sky leading to a solitary bird, likewise waves or sand patterns, or your image taken so that the subject is positioned at a cross-section in the background, eg a single figure on a corner of a cross-roads.

Having said all that, a stunning object, not too big, correctly placed on a complimentary background, will fit the criteria perfectly.

Ruth Nicholls