Thoughts about the process of my foto-project of the last weeks
Questions about the character of nature photography and the role a human being can play in nature photography has been in my mind for a long time. Some people think a person should not be visible, others use a person as a tiny element of composition. Photographers, like for example Sebastião Salgado used people as an important element in his compositions. Structures of nature can have a strong relationship to the humans, almost like a unit (klick for example ).
I feel a strong relationship to the sea and the ever changing tide. So, I put two things together, my interest in photographing motion and my relationship to the sea and challenged myself to do a special kind of selfies photography. I didn’t want to do it with a selfie-stick, but with my camera and tripod, at a special beach with a wide horizon and the feeling of infinity and freedom.
When I visited a Jazz concert by Yuri Honning Acoustic Quartet and listened to the piece “Desire”, the decision for the music to accompany my motions was made.
I was not quite sure how I could manage to do the kind of pictures that I had in mind. Therefore, I did some test pictures at home, dancing in front of a white wall, with black clothes …. and was really surprized. I liked what I saw and could continue with my planning for the outdoor project.
My boyfriend worked with the preparations for the sound. Since there would be a lot of sounds from the sea it was a real challenge. Without the music it would be difficult for me to express my thoughts of longing in the movements.
Finally, I was ready to start the project and began the long journey to my beach of “unclear longing”, with plane, train, ferry and bus,
The next day after arriving it was a cold, partly cloudy November day with perfect light and falling tide in the morning. This would give a lot of nice wet space and lines at the beach, good composition elements. Of course, there is no status quo at the sea. The view is changing all the time.
I set up my tripod and searched for a good frame, composition and light and chose the settings in my camera.
Then the shooting could begin. Out of my warm clothes …. just wearing black thin clothes and black neoprene shoes … it was cold, but I did not feel it during the dancing and shooting.
I used my remote control and the continues mode. Then found the position at the beach and danced to the music. No picture could be planned in detail. After I started the camera it was a really intuitive process.
On the one hand, the shooting was well prepared, on the other hand the shooting itself had to go by its own since I was in motion all the time and did not know when the moment of exposure was. Really exciting!
Afterwards I had really many pictures. It was a difficult decision to select some of them for a series I wanted to send to a competition.
I have to thank good photo friends for their reflecting thoughts and advices!
You can see the final series: klick here.
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