A lone tree tries to fight its way out of the urban jungle.
Author Archives: stu artphoto
Simplism
It is difficult to know how far to go with minimalism. Taking out too much detail can lead to blandness, whilst leaving in the detail can be distracting. In this image the intent was to see just how much detail I could remove to keep visual interest. For me this works, the essential part of the image being slight imperfections in the wall to compliment the simple composition.
‘Let’s make it look interesting’
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that architects will go to in making a drab walls look interesting. This was the side of an industrial building, away from public gaze and, to the best of my knowledge, the pattern did not serve any practical purpose other than to please the eye.
Grilles
This image is part of a series of images featuring that ever popular subject of ventilation grilles, which is a subset of my Industrial Minimalism series. I think I spend an unhealthy amount of time at the weekends wandering around deserted industrial estates!
Cream Insurgency
I understand why architects and designers add features such as this to facades for aesthetic reasons, branding and so on. What I don’t understand is why, as in this case, they do it to rear walls!
Top Spot on 500px!
I don’t normally use my blog to shout about my own photographic achievements, but I thought this one deserved a mention. Two weeks ago this photo took the top spot on 500px; no mean feat considering the intense competition from all the landscapes and fashion images which generally have more mass appeal. Agreed it was only for a couple of hours at most, but it made it!
Minimalism is like Marmite II
My very first post on this blog was ‘Minimalism is like Marmite’ and I felt this image summed up this title so well I thought I would revisit. Many will see this as just too simple to appreciate. Where is the subject? Where is the detail? However, if you are like me, you will see beauty in the arrangement and balance of the shapes, being the essence of minimalism in photography.
Shadow – rare UK siting
Here in the UK we’re defintely a bit short on shadows, particularly over the last couple of months, so I thought I would post a rare sighting from last year. Needless to say, about an hour after this was taken the skies clouded over and we got the usual rain! Thankfully I travel overseas for work!
Suspended Pole
Being the photographer I know how all the elements fit in this image, but as a first time viewer it may be difficult to understand the arrangement. The brain may try to apply reason, but in the end cannot complete the picture. This is one of the fascinating things about Minimal photography – it is often about what you can’t see rather than what you can.
Gnasher
Isn’t it funny how we remember things from our youth, and yet forget why we just went into the kitchen. As soon as I saw this image it reminded me of Gnasher, the pet dog of Dennis the Menace in the British comic strip from the Beano, Continue reading
Boring Photography
Here is a comment I saw relating to a competition I entered recently:- “There are quite a few boring photos in the mix in this competition that dont (for me) capture any emotion or movement showcasing architecture. Taking a flat photo of a building 100 yards away is not exactly creative.”
Drive-by shooting
Most of my photos are as a result of urban exploration, walking around cities looking for suitable images. On this occasion, however, I was driving by, on my way to a meeting, and this builidng just pooped out and me and said ‘take my photo’! Continue reading
Anthropomorphism is easy for you to say…
Anthropomorphism – the attribution of human form or other characteristics to beings other than humans. This is another one of my ‘One Magical Day’ series as mentioned in my previous post.
One Magical Day No. 1
Earlier this year, I was staying at an airport hotel over the weekend. With not much else to do, I had decided that if the weather was good, I would spend the day out and about taking photographs. As it happens, the weather was just superb, Continue reading
Right on my doorstep
Whilst I am very lucky to be able to travel the world for work, and visit some very exciting and photogenic cities, sometimes I find great subject matter right on my doorstep. This interesting wall was found outside a very busy supermarket, Continue reading
Industrial Colour
I have no idea why a factory would paint its premises these colours, but they must have had their reasons! This is part of my Industrial Colour series, some of which I have already posted, and many more to come!
Is it a painting?
Viewers often mistake this photograph, which is part of my ‘abstritecture’ series, as a painting. It may be because the distortion that the warped glass causes gives the effect of brush strokes. It may also be that they don’t necessarily recognise it as Continue reading
Don’t fence me in
When I first stumbled upon this view, my intention was to just take a photo of the bright yellow wall. The fence was in the way however, and as there was only about 3 metres between it and the wall, it was not possible to shoot through the fence Continue reading
Hurry up and wait
When I see a good subject to photograph, I feel I have to hurry to get the shot. That may have been the case in this image, but it was a weekend and the construction crane reflected in the glass windows was not moving Continue reading
Timing is Everything!
This photo just made it to Editor’s Choice on 500px – my first since becoming a member there over 2 years ago 🙂
I am sure that some think that minimal urban photography doesn’t have time constraints. After all, buildings don’t move do they? Then again, it depends where your reference.
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…..and the sky is grey….
Sometimes, and only sometimes, an overcast grey sky is better than clear and blue. Had it been the latter on the day I took this photo, then the reflection on the open window may have been too blue and not provided the contrast I needed between the surrounding blue which was a result of the reflective colour used in the glass.
Timing is Everything!
I am sure that some think that minimal urban photography doesn’t have time constraints. After all, buildings don’t move do they? Then again, it depends where your reference. Continue reading
Grab it while you can!
I was staying in a hotel with a colleague of mine and we had a couple of hours to spare between meetings. As I didn’t have a car, and the hotel was in ‘highway wilderness’ my only photography option was to walk around the hotel. Continue reading
Foreign Land
I have always loved reading maps, something which my family find very strange. Whilst they can get engrossed in the latest best-seller, I will think nothing of picking up a map, or these days going to an online map, and browsing it. Continue reading
Thrill Seeker
For me, the thrill in photography is chasing that unusual subject, composing it in the viewfinder, and pressing the shutter. I also get excitement from first seeing my images on the monitor, as I did in the past with film, seeing my prints come to life in the darkroom. Continue reading
Lazing on a Sunday Morning
As one does, I was walking through a local industrial estate one Sunday morning when I came across this brightly painted building which really appealed to me. Continue reading
Mondrian woz ‘ere
Sometimes the elements just come together. When was trying to take a photograph of this wall which had been partially overpainted, I was moving around trying to find a position to avoid the cable. Continue reading
Capture the moment
Urban photography is often about capturing the moment. I came across this scene in early afternoon where workers had obviously vacated their chairs and returned to their offices after enjoying their lunchtime in the warm sunshine. Continue reading
Abstritecture
Walk around any large city these days and you are likely to find buildings faced predominantly with reflective glass. I find these buildings an excellent canvas for abstract photography, and over the last couple of years have built up a series of what I call abstritecture.
Highlight the Shadows
By the very nature of photography, highlights and shadows are an integral feature in most genres of the art. In minimal photography, shadows can be used to very good effect as the subject of the image Continue reading
Minimalism is like Marmite
For those of you who don’t know, Marmite is a famous British branded yeast extract spread. It has lovers and haters, and not much in between. The manufacturers even use this love/hate relationship as a feature of their advertising. Continue reading
Stuart Allen 
