Into the void.
Early morning jogger disappearing into the mist.
The morning was very still & eerie and I felt a conversion to mono added even more to the atmosphere & fe...
Read more
Early morning jogger disappearing into the mist.
The morning was very still & eerie and I felt a conversion to mono added even more to the atmosphere & feeling of isolation.
Read less
The morning was very still & eerie and I felt a conversion to mono added even more to the atmosphere & feeling of isolation.
Read less
Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I captured this image at a local causeway on the Wirral, I visit regularly to walk & always see a lot of people jogging & cycling, regardless of weather or time of day.Time
I had originally turned up at 8:00a.m with the idea of taking a couple of classic "single tree in fog" shots but as I was walking towards the fields I saw small isolated groups of people jogging towards me - I knew then that I wanted a shot of a lone jogger heading away from me into the fog - I thought it would either be super atmospheric or super creepy.Lighting
Ambient lighting took care of the atmosphere in the shot & diffused the light beautifully.Equipment
This was captured handheld on the Fuji XT-1 with the 18-55mm, 1/30 sec, f/11, ISO: 400 I initially thought to use a slightly lower shutter speed to introduce a small amount of blur and add to the almost ghostly effect in the shot but it turned out that the jogger I captured was on a bit of a go slow and turned out completely sharp & not blurred at all.Inspiration
I love capturing images that you can't get every day - extreme weather or something just a little out of the ordinary. This shot was inspired by my infrared series, the deep blacks offset by the white of the fog offered a lot of contrast & once I had seen that leading line of the path to draw the viewers eye in, I knew exactly the shot I wanted to achieve.Editing
I am a compulsive editaholic but this image actually didn't require much post processing at all. After adjusting the original RAW file for contrast. lens profile adjustments, etc, it was really just a case of converting to black and white (I used Photoshops black & white adjustment layer as I like to use the original colour to better balance tones over just converting to grayscale) and then using curves & selective masking to increase black values & achieve an almost silhouette look to the darker tones and white and midtone values to give an almost white "dustiness" to the shot to add to the atmosphere.In my camera bag
Since taking this shot, I have moved back to Nikon and if I am traveling light then I tend to carry my 16-35mm, 85mm f/1.4 and a selection of grad & ND filters, I don't tend to carry a tripod unless I have a specific long exposure shot in mind & tend to rely on VR and some steady handholding to get shots to bracket - the latitude of RAW files offers a massive amount of freedom. I am usually never without a film camera too, usually my old battered Rolleiflex or huge Mamiya RB67 (definitely not for when I'm travelling light though, that camera weighs more than I do!)Feedback
Even when you have a set shot in mind, always be prepared to capture something unplanned or step out of your comfort zone - I am primarily a portrait photographer but love to just take some time out & wander with my camera. I will admit however, that if I didn't get the shot I was looking for through chance/luck, then I was quite happily going to ask one of the passing joggers to do another lap for me so as I could guarantee I'd get a result on the day - my advice is - don't be shy, I'd rather be a bit cheeky & come home with a shot than sit at home without one & regretting not asking :) Even though the day was looking decidedly miserable when I set off in the morning, I am very happy I chose to just go for it & see what came out of it, you never know what you'll see. Good luck & thanks for reading.
