Visual essay · Fine-art nature photography
Minimalist
wildlife
photography
I’m drawn to simple images that hold your attention.
The idea
A photograph that makes you pause.
I like images that give your eye somewhere to rest. A clear shape, a small detail or some space around an animal can be enough to hold my attention. That is what minimalist wildlife photography means to me. These four photographs show different ways of getting there.
Four photographs
What makes each
image work for me.
Room around the animal
Much of Polar Power is white. That space is part of what I like about the photograph: it gives the bear somewhere to move. There is little to distract from its face and the step it is taking.
A shadow through the wing
What draws me to Glassy Goose is the shadow of the head, visible through the backlit wing. That small detail is what makes the photograph for me.
Fragile wings
This dragonfly’s wings are worn and damaged. That is what draws me to Dawn Dragonfly: you can see how fragile it is.
The detail in the fish
In Squeeze In, it is the detail in the tiny fish that holds my attention. There is so much to see in something so small. That is what keeps me looking.
My approach
It starts with watching.
I rarely set out to make a minimalist photograph. I watch the animal and the light, and look for a frame with fewer distractions. Then I wait. Sometimes a small movement is all it takes for the picture to come together.
More of the work
There is more
to explore.
A polar bear, a bird or an insect can catch my attention for much the same reason: a shape, the light or a detail I had not noticed before. You will find that way of looking throughout my portfolio and in my book From nature to art.
You can also explore Ink-Art’s inkcap mushroom portraits and the stag beetle photographs in Untamed Sculpture, where small subjects offer plenty to look at.