The Girl and the Dolphin | Weekly Photo #84
Hi there! So, the UK is back in lockdown (number 3) so, over the coming weeks, photography outings will need to take a bit of a back seat while we fight back this wave but apart from some decorating jobs that have suddenly appeared on my to-do list, I will use any time I have to work on other photography-related bits and pieces such as printing some more of my photos and writing the odd blog or two. If like me, you’re also having to stay indoors at the moment and looking for some photographic inspiration to pass the time, check out the list I made at the end of this post.
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF16mm F2.8 | 16mm | 1/20th Second | f/10 | ISO800
Here’s a photo I took during a sunrise shoot around Tower Bridge in late 2019. After taking some shots over the river around More London and City Hall, I crossed Tower Bridge to see what photos were on offer north of the river. I spent some time walking around St Katherine Docks and ended up at this popular viewpoint next to the Girl and the Dolphin fountain, which, when positioned correctly, adds some useful visual weight to the left-hand side of this composition and helps to frame the bridge somewhat. As the sun was rising above the horizon, it moved behind a thin layer of cloud which helped to diffuse the light, casting this warm reddish glow on the towers. I normally shy away from taking photos when the light is direct and harsh so the defused light worked well for me here.
Armed with just the 16mm prime lens I had to move around a bit and zoom with my feet to get the best composition available and although I would have liked just a bit more space to allow the top of the tower to breathe a little more, the focal length still works and emphasises the scale of Tower Bridge nicely in my opinion.
I didn’t have to do too much in Lightroom but I did pull back the saturation a little, lowered the exposure in the sky and used some local adjustments to dodge and burn parts of the image.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, I will be making a list of things I want to work on during this current lockdown in the UK so for those that might be in the same boat, I thought I would share a few ideas as to how photographers can keep themselves busy while being stuck indoors.
6 Ideas to keep photographers busy in lockdown
#1 Print some of your photos
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you may already know that I think printing your best work is really important but instead of listing the many reasons why I think so here, pop over and give this blog post a read as I go into much more detail over there: Why every photographer should print their photos.
Whether you have a printer at home or not, this is a perfect time to prepare and print some of your own photos. If you have never printed your work, why not jump onto YouTube to pick up some tips to get the best-looking prints and find a local print lab, alternatively, if you’re already familiar with printing your photos, why not go one step further by designing a photo book or select some photos that look good together and create a cohesive wall display so you can unleash some of your best work from that hard drive and see it all in its tangible beauty.
#2 Start a small photography project
Literally, anything can be photographed and I think it’s really important to keep those skills sharp and muscle memories exercised so pick a subject such as your favourite colour while out on your daily walk or if you have another interest, see how you can incorporate your photography somehow such as still life photos of what you make or creative photos of the equipment you use. Think outside the box and have some fun with it but don’t forget point 1 above and have a think about how you could display or share the photos either by print or a social media account.
#3 Upskill and get inspired
Whether it’s a course offered by your favourite photographer, a YouTube playlist or a website such as Skillshare, it’s never a bad time to educate yourself and learn new skills that you can put into action with a lockdown project or when out and about again once the restrictions ease.
#4 Dig into your photo library to find or re-edit your older work
I’ve spoken about this topic a lot in the past because I think your photo library can be a treasure trove of unedited or abandoned photos that at the time didn’t suit your style or you lacked the skills or tools to edit the photo to its full potential, so, why not check back through some of those more memorable shoots and see what hidden gems you can find.
#5 Review your photo backup workflow
Ok, not too exciting but necessary all the same. What would you do if that one and only harddrive with all of your photos stored on it was to fail? Could you recover them? Can you afford the recovery service? If you’ve been neglecting to backup your photos recently, now is a great time to design a simple, foolproof way to protect your most cherished files. Check my blog post here to see my own backup workflow and some inexpensive ways to implement one for yourself: My Photo Backup Workflow.
#6 Get offline, relax and read a good photography book
Is that photography book that you brought and saving for a sunny day with harsh light still on the shelf gathering dust (I have three to read!")? Why not set aside an evening here or there to close the laptop, pour your choice of drink and find a quiet corner and take an hour or two out to read that book. Being in lockdown doesn’t mean life is any less hectic so it’s important to take time out and relax when the opportunity arises.
Hopefully, the list of ideas above inspires some of you looking for photographic things to do while getting out to take photos isn’t possible. Feel free to contribute with your own ideas in the comments below.
Stay safe and well.
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.