Amateur Photographer Magazine 17th September 2016 Back Issue

MASTER THE ART OF MINIMALISM
Minimalist photography has gone from being a minority sub-genre of landscape and travel to a highly popular pursuit in its own right. And it’s not hard to understand why. As camera technology and image-editing programs get more complex by the year, there’s something reassuringly simple and uncomplicated about minimalist photography; this is image-making stripped back to the essentials, often in black and white. What’s more, it can be practised all year round, and you don’t need much more than a decent camera and tripod. However, that’s not to say that minimalist photography is easy. The masters are widely copied, but adding your own unique stamp to this type of photography is much harder. To help you find your creative voice through minimalism, we talk exclusively to the legendary Michael Kenna, before getting some practical tips on editing images from Rob Cherry, a highly talented Dorset-based photographer.