For this month, April 2024, the theme challenge is “A Lone Tree“. This month’s challenge requires you to get outdoors and search for a location that has a lone tree. This challenge is an initial exercise to introduce “Minimalism” in your photography, essentially learning to reduce your composition to make your subject, in this case a lone tree, to stand out typically in a landscape by using weather, light, focal length, and/or position to exclude elements that you do not want within the frame.

Colour or Monochrome: You can create your image as colour or monochrome (black & white) depending on how you want your final image to look. If you choose “Monochrome” you can either create it using post processing software or in camera by choosing a monochrome picture style setting on your camera. Note that you can also edit the settings in any picture style, specifically in this case contrast to help make your monochrome images more dramatic. This time of year, the start of spring, the trees are void of or have minimal leaves so monochrome could help.

It is important to understand that if you shoot in “Jpeg” with a monochrome picture style setting on your camera, the image saved to the memory card will not have any colour, so remember to change your picture style camera setting back to a colour style such as; standard or landscape or portrait, when finished shooting in camera monochrome images.

Use of Light: One example, the following image uses the light from the fire to show the tree as a silhouette. Also the surrounding darkness effectively separates/softens the surrounding trees from the image to help make the tree silhouette stand out.

Use the Fog: Make use of the fog is a technique used in woodland photography to help soften or remove distracting elements from the frame to help make your subject stand out. You will notice the background is very soft due to the fog essentially removing the distant trees from the image. Although not a complete minimalistic image the fog has significantly helped the subject, tree, stand out.

Share with us the images you create this month.

We try with our monthly theme challenges to seek out additional instructional resources, below are a number of YouTube video links to help with some hints and ideas. Taking Photos of Iconic Locations instructional aids:
■ How to photograph lone trees and golden eagles: by Photography Online (36min 59sec)
■ Stormy Minimalist Landscape Photography: by Mads Peter Iversen (13min 41sec)
■ 5 STEPS to INCREDIBLE MINIMALIST photography: by Mads Peter Iversen (17min 27sec)

Students are encouraged to develop their ability to tell a story or invoke an emotion, as well as how to plan and troubleshoot while creating their images. As such it’s important to not only create the image but to also include a “title”, and write a short paragraph about; how they came up with the idea, any interesting back ground that compelled them to make the image, and describe any techniques on how they overcame any obstacles. Also do some research and include the story behind your iconic location.

An important part of improving your photography is practice, which is one aspect of the monthly theme challenge, in addition you have an opportunity to learn about different genres, techniques and tips.