Minimalism

Brian's shot of the lighthouse at Harwich is the archetypal shot that comes to mind when I think about minimalist landscapes. It's cleanly composed, framing the lighthouse with the rule-of-thirds in mind, which pulls the eye towards the structure and also gives it plenty of room to breathe. The decision to go for a super long exposure of a full minute has really helped smooth out the sky and water too, so there are no uneven distractions in the sky or sea to pull the eye away from the focal point. Great work!

Frani's water drop shot is wonderfully minimal, despite having a rather complicated setup involving no less than six flashes. The gentle gradient of pastel green and purples in the background works well and helps the colliding water droplets really stand out. Adding a little red food dye to the top lone drop makes for a clear and obvious focal point too. Knowing where to focus with water drop photography is no easy feat but this shot is pin-sharp so we take our hats off to Frani for executing such a brilliant capture.

Carla's shot certainly fits our minimal brief, consisting of a lone tree positioned in front of the sun and against a gorgeous backdrop with golden sunset tones fading into cool blues. The shot has been cleverly composed, lining up the horizon with the rule-of-thirds and making it a central composition - the eye is naturally drawn towards the bright sun and stark tree silhouette. It's all too easy to end up with an over exposed image when taking pictures like this, but Carla has expertly underexposed to retain as much of the bright sky detail as possible. Great work!

Marco's image 'The lady and the moon' takes the top spot in this months' Minimalism photo contest. We loved the simplicity of the black and white conversion, the shapes and the striking silhouette of the dancer against large white circular backdrop. It's a brilliant capture that shows Marco's masterful timing and eye for a brilliant candid photo. Great job!

Gary's thought carefully about his composition and shot in quite a clever way that uses a window in a wall to frame a scene within a scene. The colours, shapes and lines are very minimal but all work harmoniously with each other. It's a lovely shot but unfortunately with no EXIF data to go on we're unable to determine if this was taken on a Canon camera, please provide full exif data and a comprehensive description in future competitions to avoid missing out as this would have been a contender for our top ten shortlist.