Negative Space, Positive Impact

Seated on the Beam at Rockefeller Center. The power of negative space. Shot on Leica M11

A major grocery store brand currently features a tagline on its paper bags.

“It’s what’s not in the bag”.

It’s their way of saying that their products have no unnatural additives. It’s a clever way of saying that they are all about organic without actually saying it.

When I see this, I think of negative space in photographs. I could say,

“It’s what’s not in the photograph”.

Someone once said to me that Black and White photography covers a whole manner of sins. I don’t think I fully agree with that. I believe that to be the case with high-contrast adjustments or masking out something in the image that you want to cover up. However, naturally framing negative space into the shot can both cover the “sins” and provide subject focus, added drama, and enhanced composition.

The photo in this post was taken at Top of the Rock, the roof observation deck of New York’s Rockefeller Center. They have recently installed a couple of attractions to boost revenues, but also to compete with newer observation decks that offer more modern, visually appealing, Instagrammable features. One of these new attractions is inspired by one of the most famous black-and-white photos from New York’s golden Art Deco age. “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” depicts workers having a break sitting on an iron beam amid the construction of the Rockefeller Center. Now, you too can sit on a beam, complete with a seatbelt and minus lunch, and be lifted into the air, rotated, and lowered again.

This new attraction presents an opportunity for those who don’t just want the photos of the immense view of Manhattan’s skyline. The challenge, for me, is how to compose an image that conveys an element of drama, and that drama is not diminished by the crowds of onlookers, with phones and GoPros out, coffees in hand, and the obviously less than perilous safety measures of the Beam. To expect to have an image without the crowd is tough, UNLESS you cover them up with something else. In this case, a wall. What I am left with is a focus on the things I do want. And then I have to be patient to capture the right subject, the right expression, and to leave viewers with a question: “What is going on here?

Next week, on Substack, I will share a process post with more examples of how negative space conceals the clutter and pulls the eye where it belongs.

Thanks for reading.