Ritva has challenged us to combine minimalism and black and white photography. She tells us “This week, I encourage you to embrace this artistic fusion and challenge yourself to capture images that marry minimalism and black and white.” To help us get started she says to “Aim for simplicity by eliminating unnecessary elements. Harsh light reveals structure while soft light creates mood, and contrasting blacks and whites deliver a striking visual impact.”
This is my first try at using minimalism in my photos. I had fun creating these images and hope that I succeeded in meeting the challenge.
Sometimes colorful flowers look better when converted to black and white. Removing distractions by replacing the background with pure black allows the viewer to focus on the details of the flowers.


The next two images were found on the sand at the beach. I removed the sandy background with solid colors to create the minimalist images.


The final image uses negative space to focus on the surfer in the water.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Anne’s challenge last week. I enjoyed all the places you took us as you showed us your walks around the corner.
Many thanks to Ritva for her challenge Lens-Artists #381: Minimalism in Black and White. I hope you will join us for her challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and link back to Ritva’s post.
Be sure to check back on Saturday, January 24 at noon eastern time when Egidio will be hosting our next challenge.
You can learn more about how to join the Lens-Artists challenges here.
Every Day is a Gift

I believe your met the challenge. The white flower on the right and the shell are my personal favorites.
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Thanks Karen! I really appreciate your kind words. So glad you like the images.
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Perfect! I used to say that flowers are for colour photography. But now because of Monochrome Challenges I believe B&W can be as amazing if not better. There is more drama to it.
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Thanks Teresa. I agree that B&W adds drama to the flower images.
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Beth, this is brilliant. You used minimalism so well. I need to try removing the background, as you beautifully showed here. The water shot is sublime.
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Thanks Egidio! These are some of my first attempts at replacing the background. I had fun practicing with different photos. I’m glad you like the way they turned out.
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I like black and white. These are great!
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Thanks Pam. It’s fun experimenting with black and white. I’m glad you liked these.
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Wow Beth! You aced the challenge. The ocean shot is spectacular!!
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Anne, thank you so much! I almost didn’t include the ocean shot. It looks much better in black and white than in color. I’m glad you like it!
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Wow! That dandelion is gorgeous!
I agree, flowers sometimes take on a whole new look when in Black and white.
Great images, my friend.
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Thanks Nancy! I’m so glad you like the dandelion. I was happy with the way it turned out after editing. Have a great week!
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Lovely set, even the one that is not a macro
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Thank you so much!
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You’ve done so well Beth, all of them fit the theme perfectly. The ocean shot and the 20250208-Camellias stood out to me. Lovely post!
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Ritva, thank you so much! Thank you for the challenge. I had so much fun with it and I learned how to replace the background in a photo! I almost didn’t include the ocean shot and it seems to be a favorite.
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I am happy to hear you learned something new and you had fun. That is the important thing 😀
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Loved your post Beth. Good for you for trying something new! I too loved the ocean shot especially
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Tina, thank you so much. I really enjoyed this challenge. I added the ocean shot at the last minute. It seems to be a hit.
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Some of my favorite photos are of flowers I converted to black-and-white, unfortunately for this challenge, they aren’t minimalist. Your examples entice me to check for potential in my gallery of floral photos. Nice gallery, Beth.
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Thanks John! So glad you liked my gallery and the floral photos. I’m honored that my examples have enticed you to check for potential in your floral photos.
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These are beautiful images. 😊
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Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the images.
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These are wonderful Beth, the simplicity of minimalism really.
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Thanks Leanne! I really appreciate your kind words. I’m glad you like the images.
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Excellent, Beth. I love your work on the flowers, you really got a minimalist feel to them!
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Sofia, thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked the flowers. I had fun creating them.
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n excellent first try at minimalism Beth! I think your first shot (which is my favourite) and the last are the most successful. I also love the camellia in B&W, and removing the background is a great idea, but I would suggest (if I may) leaving more empty space around the flowers to create an even more minimalistic feel to the shots!
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Thank you Sarah! I’m glad you enjoyed my first try at minimalist shots. I appreciate your suggestion about more space around the flowers. It will be fun to experiment some more.
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I like it Beth. I sometime convert color to black and white in order to emphasize what strikes me about a subject. Spend a while with Ansel Adams and the power of black and white shines through. I often play with flowers by darkening the background. It always amazes me how it brings out the detail in the flowers. Good job. The starfish really caught my attention.
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Thanks Curt. I really appreciate your comments. I have fun trying new techniques. So glad you liked my images.
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“I have fun trying new techniques. “ What keeps us young, Beth.
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That lone surfer is my favorite.
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Thanks Sandy! So glad you like the surfer. He seems to be the favorite.
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love the first floral image- plenty of negative space there, and the last image waiting for the wave works nicely for me
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Sue, thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words.
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My pleasure!
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Lovely set, Beth – and I chime in with some others – waiting for the perfect wave is my favourite.
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Ann-Christine, many thanks. It’s funny how the photo I almost didn’t include turns out to be the the favorite of a lot of people!
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Well, sometimes we just don’t know! Lovely surprise then!
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Wonderful close ups, Beth! I agree with your comments on flowers. You notice their structure more in black and white.
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Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed the close ups.
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