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Shadows and Light - by Elina T. K.



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The serene atmosphere on Kuta beach in Bali bestowed upon me a very spiritual and magical feeling. People and nature, movement and calmness, shadows and light, ...
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The serene atmosphere on Kuta beach in Bali bestowed upon me a very spiritual and magical feeling. People and nature, movement and calmness, shadows and light, all becoming one.
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'It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.' Aristotle Onassis.
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This picture has not been digitally manipulated (apart from some tweaks of the saturation and where I placed my watermark), it came straight out my camera.
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Behind The Lens

Location

This shot was taken on Kuta beach in Bali. It was my first trip overseas and I was so excited to meet a completely different culture and see the beautiful landscapes. Everything seemed new, even the shallow ocean beach.

Time

It was 6:28 in the afternoon. I find that natural light at the right time really has the power to transform landscapes. I therefore try to shoot either in the first morning light or just before sunset. I feel lucky to have been there to capture this magical moment.

Lighting

This photo is all about lighting. It owes its softness and warm colours to the time of the day it was shot; a few minutes before sunset. I waited a bit for the sun to come out from behind the clouds in order to capture the beautiful sun rays. When it did the sunlight was so bright I remember squinting. It was then, when I saw the final image I wanted to capture.

Equipment

For this shot I used my previous camera, a Sony a300 and a DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens.

Inspiration

It was a beautiful afternoon on Kuta beach in Bali. The beach was quiet and busy at the same time; full of people walking, swimming or playing. A group of people was chanting and meditating. I was mesmerized by the people's reflections on the shore. Then I noticed the beautiful thick clouds that covered the sun and decided to wait for it to slightly come out. The serene atmosphere on Kuta beach bestowed upon me a very spiritual and magical feeling. People and nature, movement and calmness, shadows and light, all becoming one. I was on this trip with my beloved mother, who always so patiently waits for me to take my pictures. The trip was actually a present for my graduation. You'll notice mothers playing with their children on the beach. The moment I shot this photo, I felt happiness and appreciation. Thank you mom for this amazing experience!

Editing

I slightly increased the saturation to bring out the blue and pink colour in the sky.

In my camera bag

I travel light. My Nikon D7100 with the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. I always keep a cleaning cloth, a lens cleaning pen brush and some nuts in my bag in case I run into a bird or animal I want to shoot.

Feedback

I'll start with the technical part. To capture the silhouettes, their reflections and to 'freeze' their movement I needed to have a short exposure time, my shutter speed was therefore 1/1000 sec. My ISO was 100. In order to have the correct exposure I used an aperture of f/6.3 which gave me the much desirable result of having a crispier, more in focus foreground depicting the texture of the sand, and a more blurred and romantic background with all the people and the sea. Timing is essential. A couple of moments (and shots) earlier on that same beach the colours were nothing like the ones on this image. Also, be persistent. This may not apply to this particular shot, but I've found that when I return to the places I've shot before I often see them with a 'fresh' look, which often makes my subsequent photos better than the previous ones; not always, but often enough. Especially in landscape, street or wildlife photography you should try to always have your camera with you. There have been so many moments in my life when I found myself in front of a spectacular sunset and didn't have my camera with to capture it. Luckily this wasn't one of these moments!

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