All images by Rafal Krol. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Minimalist photography, with its unique focus on shapes, textures, and silhouettes, is something we’ve been keenly looking at in recent years. The latest to catch our attention is a serene and moody set of travel snaps by Rafal Krol, who takes us around the historic port town of Saint-Malo in Brittany, France. If you’re a fan of details, black and white imagery, and atmospheric minimalism, this series is definitely one to check out.
The walled city of Saint-Malo along the coast of English Channel, is the most popular tourist center of Brittany. Its stunning architecture is eye-catching and intriguing from afar, but in his Saint Malo series, Krol shows us some of the details that make it a perfect spot for minimalist photography.
Accompanied by his Hasselblad 503 CX loaded with black and white films, the Dublin-based graphic designer and photographer roamed the port town in search of some charming corners to capture. It’s easy to see that he succeeded with this collection of black and white snaps shot in atmospheric long exposures. He took these both along the shoreline and around the town itself, with the creeping mist enveloping the seaside town making the scenes extra moody.
Apart from landmarks and architecture, the most interesting element in this series is the fence of dead trees lining up the beach surrounding the walled town. This famous beach called the Grande Plage du Sillon, is spiked with the trunks that serve as natural water breakers against high tides. When shot in long exposure as Krol did in the series, the high tide is transformed into a surreal scene of ghostly trees seemingly sticking out from murky and misty waters.
Rafal Krol has loads more of these beautiful minimalist landscape and architectural photography on his website and Behance portfolio. Definitely worth checking out if you need more inspiration for your own minimalist photography!
