icz_photography

KEEP ME AFLOAT.

Nautical abstract view of a floating buoy and the back of a boat docked in the calm water of a small local fishing harbour, captured outdoor in a cloudy winter ...
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Nautical abstract view of a floating buoy and the back of a boat docked in the calm water of a small local fishing harbour, captured outdoor in a cloudy winter afternoon using intese black and white and minimalistic "rule of thirds" composition with an ample dark negative space.
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NIKON D7100

settings

Aperture 71/10 ISO 100 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 50/1

location

Riva Ligure, Liguria, IT

upload_date

Dec, 2022

Views

Likes

Awards

Gem Award

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

It was taken on a pier at a small local fishing harbor in Liguria, Italy.

Time

It was mid-afternoon of a grey overcast winter day.

Lighting

Shooting outdoor, I couldn’t modify light in any way, but I was lucky: the cloudy sky helps me achieve a nicely even light.

Equipment

This was shot on a Nikon D7100 body, with a Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens. No other equipment was involved.

Inspiration

I was in a bar with a friend of mine drinking coffee at the end of a cold December day. After a while of me talking his ears off about my lack of enthusiasm for an upcoming little trip with my family over Christmas, given the absence of photography opportunities there, he reminded me something important: you can’t always shoot nice things, beautiful ones that you like, that’s too easy, everyone can do that; try instead to turn something ugly and unnoticed in an interesting subject through your own personal interpretation of reality. I took it as a challenge and a great opportunity to play again, after a couple of years experimenting with different genres, with my first true love in photography: minimalism in black and white with a touch of abstract and street. I was looking for a graphically intense representation of an everyday scene in a manner that divorces it from its mundane context and creates a pure artistic image, so I paid particular attention to some components, such as rich tonal contrast and shape, which defines an object in its simplest form. Another important element was composition: I opted for a classic rule of thirds with a nice ample negative space using the dark waters.

Editing

The original Raw image, a format I chose in order to maintain as much tonal variation as possibile and have more data to play with during the editing process, was converted in black and white. I edited maximizing the impact of the various subjects against the background so as to make them really pop. Highlights were lighten and shadows darken to get a more vivid and striking black and white, but not too much to eliminate the mid-tones and the details completely.

In my camera bag

The first thing I always pack is my trustworthy Nikon D7100 body with a standard kit 24-120mm Nikkor zoom lens. I've got them since I was 16, so for 8 years now, and I’m not doing to change them anytime soon. I traveled everywhere with those two along for the trip: although they are not the easiest choice in term of weight and volume to always have with me, they never disappointed me thanks to their quality and robustness. Sometimes I use a dedicated Nikkor 105mm macro lens as well. Indispensable is also my Rollei tripod, a compact model in carbon, light but still very stable, perfect to carry around. Last but not least, the super useful Neewer’s 5-in-1 reflector/diffusor I brought recently. Playing with light has never been easier and funnier.

Feedback

Train yourself to see in black and white: begin to visualize the scene in front of you with all its colour absent, concentrating only on form and shapes, tone and contrast, shadow and texture.

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icz_photography

icz_photography

KEEP ME AFLOAT.

Nautical abstract view of a floating buoy and the back of a boat docked in the calm water of a small local fishing harbour, captured outdoor in a cloudy winter ... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow icz_photography

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Nautical abstract view of a floating buoy and the back of a boat docked in the calm water of a small local fishing harbour, captured outdoor in a cloudy winter ...
Read more

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