SO

I was told, “Take a picture that is minimal. Something that makes you think you want to see more and know the bigger story.”

My thought response was, “I may be a creative, but I’ve never been a photographer.”

Fast-forward about 10 minutes. There I am, sitting in the same spot, getting distracted by every sound, sight, and stench around me. I look out the window to see the rainy day—it was that afternoon. I then see something that makes me think, “What the hell?”

I saw a tree. Yeah, I know, crazy, right? Jokes aside, this tree was weird. Every branch was healthy, every leaf greener than a dollar bill. BUT THEN, I see that damn outlier. One branch. One dead-looking branch full of discolored leaves. There stood a healthy tree that looked fine in every aspect, EXCEPT for that single branch that didn’t match the rest of the tree. I was confused.

I’m sure a botanist could tell me a very simple answer as to why this branch was a different color. Maybe even a two-minute Google search would have cleared up my confusion. Hell, maybe even just approaching the tree to see if it was just a branch that detached from the tree and died would have cleared things up. Obviously, there was an answer out there.

Here’s the thing: just finding that answer wouldn’t have given me an opportunity for minimal photography.

I saw a cool sight that made me want to know more, the bigger story. So I took a picture.