Rick Bogacz

Rick Bogacz

MINIMALIST CATEGORY WINNER

Born in Toronto, Canada and now living three hours north on Lake Vernon near the town of Huntsville Ontario, I was attracted to photography at a young age. I had drawn and painted but the results that I garnered from the camera were more true to me as a creative individual. After more than a decade as a newspaper reporter/editor, I left that role to study photography full time. Upon graduating I worked as a photojournalist on a freelance basis before entering a long career in digital media. Ironically, Covid renewed my interest in photography, particularly landscapes, since it was one of the few activities I could do alone without risk. It was also an essential period for establishing my interest in minimalism as a genre.

This particular photograph, called Infinity Steps, almost presented itself to me. A fog was beginning to roll in from Lake Ontario on this particular pier which added to the mood. I also wanted to remove the waves in the water to add a sense of solitude and serenity to the scene. I therefore used a 15-stop ND filter for a five minute exposure to achieve the desired effect.

I am often looking for wide open spaces to shoot. Large bodies of water, field and empty rolling hills help to add to the simplicity of a scene. If there are too many elements in the frame, I move on. I want to reduce things to the bare minimum while still evoking a sense of wonderment, tranquility and peacefulness.

It’s equally important as the main subject. In “Infinity Steps” the water and sky, despite not showing hardly any movement, play a major role in the composition. One can imagine that the negative space indeed goes on forever.

Everything is about light when it comes to my minimalist work. I don’t want to overcomplicate things in post production so a certain level of patience and determination is required to ensure that the image is properly lit naturally. I wish I knew what made me pick between black and white and color images. It’s subjective for sure but when I do select colour I look for tones to be on the warmer side, particularly with my still life work.

I think one of the biggest challenges is finding the right subject matter and the appropriate light to fit the genre. It’s difficult to explain but I know as I am pressing the shutter whether the image will work. It’s almost instinctual. But at the same time, I need to keep reminding myself that the initial shots may not be the ones that work. It’s important to keep looking at the scene with as many different angles as humanly possible.

I would say about 90 per cent is planned. I will often scope out potential locations using Google maps. I’ll go to these places and take shots on my Iphone and then go back when the light and weather are right. I have about three weather apps on my phone and have become somewhat obsessed on nature’s temperament.

It’s always an honor to be recognized for your work but I would remind young minimalist photographers to just keep chasing the muse. Don’t feel down if you are in a creative rut. It will pass. If you find yourself in that situation, take a step back and study photographers who you admire. This will help spark energy and ideas. Also, I would try and read essays on minimalism and essentialism. They won’t necessarily be about photography but they will help gain an understanding of how to declutter physically and philosophically, which will lead to clean, simple images.