Together through deep waters – Danie Loots

This photograph is a good example of how a picture can tell a little story. A story that is not necessarily an accurate reflection of the true events, but a story created  within the frameworks of my artistic freedom.

The original RAW image was captured at 10h08 on a bright sunny day on the South Coast. The two subjects, who are brother and sister, were both very unsure of themselves playing in the shallow surf. This feeling of not being too safe was confirmed a minute earlier by a wave that knocked both of them off their feet and had the little girl running to her dad in tears. Her brother was also a bit stunned by the wave, but it was obvious how concerned he was for his little sister. The children’s father is actually at this stage just out of picture to the left and the little girl is about to reach out to him again, not quite comfortable with just her brother supporting.

I obviously could have told another story or two with those pictures as well, but chose to tell this one of these two little ones on their own in these threatening waters, clinging to each other.

I did a couple of important things right in creating this image. I think the first one was that I was in the sea with my camera. So many pictures get taken on the beach, but most of them will be taken from the beach towards the sea. I try to always get a different perspective than the normal one. This immediately adds interest for the viewer. The next thing I did right was cropping the picture the way it is. All the viewer can see is what contributes to the story. The famous French born American landscape photographer Alain Briot says in his book Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity and Personal Style, that everything you put in a picture either adds to the picture or takes away from it. He says “A strong image is one in which nothing detracts. Remove all the elements that are distracting to the viewer’s eye.” This image does not include anything that does not add to the story this played a major part in its success.

Another very important contribution to the success of this picture was made in the post processing of the RAW picture. The original photograph was much too bright and lacked contrast as a result of the time of the day it was taken. This did not fit in with the story I wanted to tell, so I used Photoshop to first add contrast to the picture and then de-saturate and  darken the colours. This had the effect of adding detail to the water and making it look far more menacing. (see the original image)

Original Image Data:

• Make: Canon
• Model: EOS 5D Mark II
• Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec
• F-Stop: f/4.0
• ISO Speed Rating: 100
• Focal Length: 200mm
• Lens: EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
• Club: Best of Event February 2012

Article provided by:

Danie Loots

(2* Centurion Camera Club)