Negative space

What is negative space?

Negative space is the space surrounding your subject in a photo. To make it really simple, it's generally just all the empty or unused space in your photograph. In fact... almost every picture has some negative space but it's not every image that uses the negative space as a dominant element of the composition.

I often find comments about getting closer in photographs and I know... sometimes they have a point. But many times it's just that the viewer doesn't understand what he/she is looking at. That may sound rude but let me explain that before you judge me...

I just love using negative space to bring out the details of anything or just to make calming surroundings to a simple subject. I find that in photography many people don't understand the power to it... or maybe it's just that many don't just take time to relax and let the image speak to you in that way. I also find most people nowdays are enjoying photography as, well, as fast food... :/
Many images with a lot of negative space don't give such "wow" factor and people just skip it. And of course, it's just not appealing to all. So it's not like you are stupid if you don't get it. ;)

But nevertheless... What I'm trying to say is...
Take your time and let the images speak to you.
Photography isn't fast food!


Some of my photos with a lot of negative space:

One birch tree

Calm

 breath of fresh air

Walking on ice

Remember the summer?

As the spring is slowly getting closer and you can already feel it in the air I'm forced to look forward to the summer. I'll be doing that by looking up photos from last summer, which was a gorgeous summer if you really like the sun and warmth. It was pretty rainless too which is definitely not typical to Finland.

So... here's some Finnish summer presented in several ways!

Late evenings

Midnight dandelions

Summer activities

Moody black and white lake scenery

Exploring the water

Water. What a fascinating substance. What's the most interesting in it, it can be pretty much anything.

It bends light and colors beautifully. It may be still or moving. It can be liquid or solid. And as solid... Ice... it can be molded to anything. From the ice cubes in your glass to actuals size hotels.
(like this real ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden *link to icehotel.com*)

All of these are seen in nature too. So I went and tried to find some natural water. Not so difficult in Finland. ;)

Shapes of water

Motion of water

State of water