The last time I published anything to this blog was the 5th July. Apologies for that but I decided to take a holiday and headed off to Cornwall. The scenery there is spectacular but looking through my images (yes I was still working) everything looks like a stock photo. Nice if you received them on a postcard but you wouldn’t say it was great photography.
I think the problem was that although this was a holiday, I was still taking photos. And whilst I was taking photos, I was thinking about how I could use the images. If I’m completely honest with myself, when I took most of my photos I was thinking about stock usage which raises two interesting points:
- When you shoot stock photography you change your approach. You approach the scene with a specific mindset that affects your framing, composition and to some degree what you shoot.
- After photographing with this mindset for a while it becomes difficult to switch to another. This makes it very tricky to produce creative, innovative and arty shots of the type I really want capture.
Friday Image No.223
The reason I mention the point about getting your mindset right is because of this Friday photo. Having carried a camera with me most of the days, I decided to head out one evening for the sunset. The weather looked promising, so I headed over to Godrevy Lighthouse. I planned my arrival with an hour to scout out the location and find a shot. This should have been plenty of time to find something good.
Actually, it was plenty of time, it’s just that I couldn’t see any great shots. That’s why I ended up with this OK shot rather than something more creative. Yes, it’s nice, but it’s what I class as a typical postcard or calendar shot. My mind was still in the mode of shooting stock photography. I hadn’t given it time to switch over to being innovative which is one of my big problems.
If you’re interested in the technical details of the shot here they are:
- Fuji X-T3 with Fuji 10-24 lens at 14.5mm.
- 14” exposure, at f/13.0 at ISO160.
- Kase Wolverine 0.9 (3 stop) Reverse ND Grad and Kase 6 stop ND filter.
- Tripod mounted with a cable release.
- RAW converter Capture One Fuji (see why I’m switching to Capture One).
If you like the shot do let me know in the comments. Personally, I’m undecided.
Have a great weekend.
The Lightweight Photographer 
I like the shot and would like to hear what you would do to improve it.
Thanks. The lighting is good but I think the foreground is a little too busy and possibly a cliche. The left side is also a little weak. I should really have hunted around more rather than quickly settling on this composition.
Your stock/art comment is interesting. How about a column on how you view the differences, because I think much of it resides in the eye of the beholder.
Don
Good idea. I’ll need to work on that.
I think you are too hard on yourself.
Thanks but I still think I could have done better. I was possibly just being too lazy.
Personally, I think the foreground really lifts this shot above an everyday postcard.
Thank you. My own observation of the foreground is whilst unusual and eye-catching, it’s a little too busy and also a bit of a cliche.
I like the photo. The eye naturally moves from the foreground to the background lighthouse and sunset.
If I had to nit-pick, I’d say that there is nothing happening on the left side of the photo.
Thanks and I agree with your observation. The only reason why I might get away with the left side of the image is because of the colour and that it’s quite dark. This tends to hold the attention on the middle/right side of the frame.
This is a great image in my opinion. Strong and calm. And pretty well executed, it’s hard to control flare while shooting the sunset with two filters. I liked indeed.