Minimalism with Tony Worobiec

Tony was someone that was recommended by several people as someone that we should invite to come and speak to the community. I am so pleased to welcome Tony to Camversation for the third time.

About the Talk:

Minimalism

"Minimalism" is another photographic genre which has been appropriated from Art ,which is the starting point of this presentation. By viewing two or three examples of "minimalist" painting, it will be easier to understand what it is we are trying to achieve with minimalist photography. Essentially it works on the principle that less is more, therefore we should be encouraged to pare down our visual elements to only those that are truly required to communicate our thoughts and emotions. It involves quite a degree of self-discipline, but once mastered our photographs assume a much greater sense of clarity. Minimalism should not just be confined to the content, as you may decide to create an image with a very limited tonal range, or a greatly restricted colour palette. By acquainting ourselves with what other visual artists are prepared to explore, we are in a much better position to develop our own unique way of seeing.

It is a philosophy which directly opposes the notion of "image creep"; this often occurs when photographing landscape. As an example, it is easy to admire a beautiful range of mountains set against a nuanced sky. You then spot a lovely row of trees in the middle distance so you decide to include those as well. As your eyes wander further , you notice a flowing  stream just 10 yards from where you are standing together with an eye-catching cluster of flowers in the immediate foreground. A wonderful scenario, but by including all those elements your photo lacks clarity and purpose. The principle underlying "minimalism" is to stick to what initially caught your eye, and not be deviated by too much unnecessary detail .

About Tony

Author of 17 books, Tony Worobiec studied fine art at The University of Newcastle upon Tyne and spent 18 years as head of a large design faculty in Dorset. He has won awards for photography in the UK and internationally, and has had work exhibited in London’s Barbican Gallery, Bradford’s National Museum of Photography, The Menier Gallery London and The Fox Talbot Museum Lacock. Dozens of his photographs have been used for book or album covers.

His work has appeared in more than a 100 photographic magazines both here in the UK and in America. He has been invited to write extended articles for well respected photographic magazines such as Black & White Photography, Practical Photography, Total Digital Photography, Digital Photo, Digital Camera, Photo Plus and Photo Techniques USA. Several of his articles have also been published in the German magazine, Canon Foto

A Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, Tony is a fine art photographer with work in the permanent collection of The RPS, The Fox Talbot Museum and in numerous corporate and private collections here in the UK, in Europe, Japan and in The States.

Please do check out Tony's website: https://www.tonyworobiec.com/

This talk will be recorded and made available for four weeks after the event