A Brief Moment in Brighton | Weekly Photo #38
Outside of London, Brighton is one of my favourite places to take photos. Not only is it the closest beach to where I live, but as many of you might know by now, I tend to include the “hand of man” in my photos and for a seaside location, Brighton certainly has that in abundance. I typically get drawn to man-made structures such as the West Pier’s skeletal remains as the imposing but frail-looking structure makes for a strong subject to photograph but the photo here is less about the subject or particular focal point but more about capturing the moment, the mood or feeling I experienced during the shoot.
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,700 Second | f/2 | ISO160
I have already shared this photo as a part of a collection in a post I wrote titled Mental Health and Why Photography Matters and decided to share it again in my Weekly Photo series as not only is it my favourite of the set but it’s the one that connects with me the most. I can find it difficult at times to portray the feeling or mood I experienced during a particular shoot. It’s something I try to work on but find others accomplish this far easier and better than I do. Or at least that’s the perception I get. So, when I do take a photo that represents the mood accurately in a shot like this photo here, it creates an instant connection with me and rekindles the memories and emotions I felt on that particular morning.
As I walked along the beach with my X-T30 Camera and 35mm F2 prime lens, I spotted someone standing close to the water, seemingly deep in thought and appearing happy just to be out at a time many other people rarely get to experience. This is exactly the kind of feeling I was experiencing and one I wanted to capture. The sun was just starting to rise off to the right and with the clouds just lining the horizon, the light was slightly defused resulting in this beautiful warm glow across the scene. Aware the moment could be over in an instant, being careful to make sure the figure in the distance stood out and was not lost amongst the structure of the pier, I quickly crouched down low to include the pebbles in the foreground and captured the photo.
Technically, the photo itself isn’t amazing. The composition isn’t particularly balanced being heavier on the left-hand side and the person standing on the beach isn’t in the best position compositionally but not all photos have to be prize winners to mean something to you. After all, who do you take photos for? It’s sometimes good to throw the rule book out the window and just enjoy the photo because of the connection you have with it, not because it’s technically and compositionally perfect.
Cheers,
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.