RajD

Droplets-of-Joy-Viewbug

The focus of this photograph is one of the multiple streams of water jets shooting upwards at the Ring Fountain in downtown Boston that are synchronized with th...
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The focus of this photograph is one of the multiple streams of water jets shooting upwards at the Ring Fountain in downtown Boston that are synchronized with the lights. I adjusted my focus on the stream of water jet and waited for the next burst to come. As I was composing my shot I noticed this young girl come into the frame through my viewfinder. The next stream of water jet came shooting upwards and I waited for her to gesture and look up while enjoying the cool sprays of water, and clicked my shutter.
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Apr, 2017

Views

1387

Likes

+290

Awards

Top Shot Award 21

Featured

Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 21

Peer Award

+189

Outstanding Creativity

+25

Top Choice

+13

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Genius

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I made this image at the Ring fountain in downtown Boston, USA. It's a favorite spot to hang out and play in the fountains and water jets for both kids and young adults alike, especially in the evenings of summer and early autumn months when it's still warm and the dancing fountains are lit up with colored lights.

Time

It was around 9pm on a warm September evening.

Lighting

It was pretty dark despite the surrounding colored lights and lights from the water jets. Using the available light at the scene I moved around the fountain to first choose my subject, then re-positioned myself to get a clean enough background with the colored lights.

Equipment

A Canon 5D M3 with a Canon f/2.8 70-200mm lens on a mono-pod.

Inspiration

A few friends and I had been out photographing the city of Boston at dusk and evening. We stopped around the Ring Fountain to take a break and were watching the kids and young people enjoying the water and spray on that warm evening. It was a great atmosphere with lot of shouting, and cries of joy and running around. My eye caught this young girl at one corner of the fountain just enjoying the jets of water, the splashes and their spray. I moved around and found a spot with a cleaner background and focused on her and made a few images. They were OK, nothing great. They didn't quite capture the mood and the feeling there. As I was looking at the scene though my view finder the next jets of water sprayed out. That gave me the idea for the image I wanted to make next. As the jets spayed, I changed my focus to the jets of water, re-positioned myself to have the girl as the background and waited. I clicked the shutter just as she gestured looking upwards with her arms slightly stretched while the water and spray hit her face and torso. The slower shutter speed allowed the droplets and spray to have some motion blur and the selective focus and darker exposure provided the mood and feeling to the image. I felt I was successful in making the image I was looking for.

Editing

This image was made at ISO 8000. So I needed to do some noise reduction. But between what the raw image from the Canon 5D M3 provides and Lightroom's noise reduction capabilities, I was happy enough that I didn't need to use another noise reduction filter like Nik or Topaz. Beyond that I just made some minor tweaks to the exposure, contrast, highlights and shadow sliders in Lightroom.

In my camera bag

I use Canon equipment. In addition to my 5D bodies, I'll have a 50mm prime, a 16-35mm wide angle zoom, and the 70-200mm telephoto zoom in my bag. Depending on the assignment I might include my 35mm prime as well.

Feedback

The advice I have been given and that I try to follow, not always successfully, is to wait and observe. Then, be prepared, and observe. And be prepared to get lucky. Such that when the moment does arrive, you're ready. Making a compelling image that exudes emotion and feeling and story is always a hard thing. The more observant and prepared I am, the luckier I get.

See more amazing photos, follow RajD

RajD

RajD

Droplets-of-Joy-Viewbug

The focus of this photograph is one of the multiple streams of water jets shooting upwards at the Ring Fountain in downtown Boston that are synchronized with th... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow RajD

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

The focus of this photograph is one of the multiple streams of water jets shooting upwards at the Ring Fountain in downtown Boston that are synchronized with th...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.