An Exercise In Exclusion

The essence of a beach in Maui (click to enlarge)

We all understand that photography is an exercise in exclusion.  Whereas in painting and drawing, for example, the artist starts with a blank sheet of paper or canvas, then creates the work of art by adding content.  Photography is just the opposite.  We start out with everything that is before us.  Everything we can see.  We then have to decide what to exclude in order to create our art.  And...that is the problem.

It is not always easy to decide what to include and what to exclude.  At times, I am still conflicted with some subjects.  Our tendency is to include too much.  I suspect it has to do with being present and trying to capture the emotions we experience in our photographs.  We stand upon a ridge looking at vastness and beauty of the snow covered mountains, forests and valleys in front of us.  We want to include it all.  We want to share our good fortune and emotions.  Most of the time, it can't be done successfully.

When we tend to include too much we need to ask ourselves, "What is the subject?  What are we trying to say?  What mood or feeling are we trying to convey?"  From there we can better understand what is necessary to include and what is extraneous.

For this particular image, I found myself on the beach in Maui.  (I was forced to go to Hawaii 10 times over five years for work.  Terrible assignment!)  The entire beach, all of the people, the surfers, swimmers, boats, dog walkers, homeless individuals, trees, waves, sky, clouds and the island of Lanai was all before me.  I couldn't photograph everything so I started excluding things.  Finally, I got down to just shadows on the sand of two palm trees behind me and a small slice of the ocean with a couple of small, cresting waves in the background.  That was enough.  All the rest was not needed for me to express my feeling of calm, peace and beauty on a tropical island.  In my mind, I achieved that through minimalism.  Just enough subject.  Not too much.  The extraneous was eliminated.

Excluding everything that was not necessary allowed me to create an image that, when I now see it, takes me back to that morning.  It takes me back to the calmness of the Pacific Ocean, the sound of the gently breaking waves, the salt air, the warmth of the sand under foot, the palms lining the beach, the gentle ocean breeze and the overall beauty of the place.

Excluding much of what is in front of you is not easy.  I suggest, if you have difficulty, make several images, each with a little less subject matter.  Keep narrowing your field of view until there is just the essence of your subject.  After a while, it will come much more easily to you.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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