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Oct, 2020Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a dock on a Virginian lake.Time
I took this photo around three in the afternoon, just as the time playing in the lake was winding down. The kiddos had left most of their toys strewn along the dock and most of the adults had left. Only a few of the kiddos were still hanging around and the cleanup had not yet begun.Lighting
The main thing that caught my eye was the water on the dock. The shade from the roof combined with the sunlight reflecting off the puddle created this beautiful contrast. It was bright enough outside for the furniture and water toys to create some pretty nice silhouettes without appearing too harsh. It gives a good contrast between the relative "indoors" of the dock and the outdoors of the lake in a defined, but relaxed way.Equipment
This was shot on a Sony DSC-RX100, with no additional equipment.Inspiration
I didn't plan to take any B&W pictures that day. It was far too colorful outside and besides, not many parents want to see B&W pictures of their kids playing in a lake. Somehow it doesn't feel right. However, my eye was drawn to this great geometry with the puddle. It was just triangular enough to capture attention but just wild enough not to look too stale. It had a great framing too. The two chairs fit on each side of the puddle very evenly but had their own unique decorations of empty bottles, towels, and clothes. Even the kiddo seemed to balance out the table of half-empty water bottles on the left. In the middle, the haphazard assortment of pool equipiment led my eye out to the lake. To me, the lazy symmetry of the shot was too good to be distracted by color, so I switched to B&W.Editing
No, the only altercation to the photo was the use of the High Contrast B&W setting on the camera itself.In my camera bag
For all my shots, I use a Sony DSC-RX100. It's small enough where I can put it in a coat or back pocket without too much trouble and quiet enough to not disturb the locals. It's no slouch in picture quality either. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll bring along a 50-year-old garage sale tripod in a drawstring bag.Feedback
We live on a pretty beautiful planet. There is hardly a place you can go that doesn't have an aspect of beauty in it. I think one of the most rewarding things one can do as an amateur photographer is to say with a photo "Look, this is the world you wake up every day in. Somehow, no matter what, it is still beautiful."
