One Red Spot

Within today’s Ted Forbes newsletter he introduces a Japanese aesthetic concept: Koh-ltten, which loosely translates to “one red spot.”

One of the techniques Ted’s dad used to balance his landscape composition is to place a dot of color into a negative space. He wrote that it’s almost like a small light, a point of visual interest.

The “red spot” works as a balancing contrast in two ways: color and scale. Its presence is unexpected, but it often functions to anchor the composition. It can be subtle, only noticeable when you’re really analyzing the work. It doesn’t have to be red, and it not restrained to a”dot” or “spot.” The overarching idea is to provide the viewer with a visual anchor – it serves as a point of contrast to the rest of the picture.

In the Japanese aseptic the emphasis is on subtle contrast, A “spot” a moment, a detail of interest or beauty. It doesn’t stand out too much. Think of it as “quiet.” Beauty is contrast displayed with humility.

In closing, I apologize to Patty (pilotfishblog.com) for taking another pathway to illustrate detail within photographs as I was so engaged with Ted Forbes discussion of the Japanese aesthetic concept: Koh-ltten I had an overwhelming desire to explore and share this quiet detail.

Thank you Ted for your willingness to share your journey and in this sharing teach me so much about photography.