Photos from The Empty Project

In March, I started a new project called The Empty Project. It involves two restrictions: use a 35mm lens, and try to make the scene look and/or feel empty, preferably the latter. The goal is two-fold: 1. I was feeling a little empty about my typical style and needed a bit of a break from it, and 2. See if I can make the audience feel the feeling of empty when looking at the photos.

Warning: this will likely be longer than your email will allow. You may have to visit Substack to read it all.

Lake Superior under the Belt of Venus. Probably not making you feel empty.

Before I write more about the project, here’s the shameless self-promo and housekeeping.

• 2025 Workshops: I’m aiming for opening registration the week of April 22nd. It will happen in two waves again. The first is for alumni. I’ll open up a portion of the seats for alumni. Then after a few days, I’ll open up the remaining seats and any left over seats to everyone. I can explain the reasoning in the comments if anyone is interested in why I do it this way.

• Online Workshops: I still have spaces available. Registrations are trickling in. These newsletters must be working, because I get about one online class registration per newsletter. The difference between registration for online classes in 2020-21 and now seems crazy to me, because I’m still taking online classes at the same rate. In 2020-21 and even 2022, my Online Night Sky Class and Lightroom Class would already be filled. Maybe I’m not doing marketing right.

</end shameless self promo>

The Empty Project

I already mentioned the reasons why I’m doing this above, and I’ve written about projects before, but I thought I’d say this again. Forcing yourself to go do a photography project while restricting the way you do it can force you to go do it. Doing it is the important part. The restriction in subject and equipment can also help you imagine in a different way. That change in the way you imagine can impact your thinking and end in surprising results.

How’s that going for me?

I haven’t really been doing it. Instead, I’ve been taking photos of buildings, like the Grand Marais public restrooms. This building is getting torn down soon, and it doesn’t look like they are rebuilding public restrooms based on the drawings that I’ve seen.

It’s not that I haven’t been doing the project, but the weather hasn’t cooperated and then my kid’s spring break happened, and I cheated on the project by using a 75mm f/1.5 lens.

As far as the project itself, I feel like I’ve been successful in capturing a few images in the way that I want, and now that I’ve done that I can go this direction with the project. Here are examples:

To get to this point took some experimentation. Take the following three images as an example. I was trying out different angles and ideas on the small rock that’s just offshore. One of my photography teachers always said that you should consider yourself and your subject as part of an atom. The subject is the nucleus and you are an electron. You need to fly around it and try multiple different directions and approaches. Unless you do that, you won’t know the right approach for the subject.

Out of these approaches, I ended up liking the last shot the best, and that in turn moved me in the direction of the successful images.

I’ve also messed around with the time of day and type of lighting. For example, I shot the following after the sun was higher in the sky. I ended up not liking the lighting because it doesn’t seem empty to me.

I’ve also tried various subjects, like the following and found that they didn’t really fit what I wanted.

I think I want to just use small, rocky islands as a subject with overcast lighting, texture and a touch of color in the clouds, and some wave action to blur the water. But I didn’t know any of that until I actually got out to do the project.

The doing is the important part.

This project sort of reminds me of my Haiku in Landscape Photography Project that I did in 2011 and 2012. I wanted to keep things minimal but use the idea of internal comparison to set up elements of the photo to echo with, contrast with, or expand upon other elements in the photo. I enjoy haiku and write it a bit and was struck by something that I read about haiku that made me think that I could use those same poetry principles visually.

Here’s one of my haiku. This was published in Frogpond, which is The Journal of the Haiku Society of America.

misunderstanding again
deep now into the
peeled onion

This is echo.

This is contrast.

This is expansion.

With The Empty Project I promised myself that I’d do it through March, and I’ve done it. I don’t think I’ll stick to it in April. It accomplished the goal of getting me unstuck about my other photography. It was fun. I’ll try to make more of the lonely, small island shots.

One thing that I may keep on doing is using 35mm. I’m enjoying the challenge of using just 35mm for sunrises and sunsets.

Until next time

I hope you enjoyed this issue. If there’s one takeaway, give yourself a photography project when you are stuck. That way, you’ll go do photography. The doing is the important part.

I’ll see you again in two weeks and until next time I’ll leave you with this sunrise shot that I shot with a 35mm lens. It’s why I want to keep using the 35mm exclusively for sunrise and sunsets.