In photography, we are all too often looking for the perfect shot. We want to get the exposure just right, catch the ideal light and, of course, create a rule of thirds composition that is by the book.
In principle, I have nothing against taking a beautiful photo, but there have been numerous occasions when I decided to take a slightly different approach. Part of what drives this for me is the desire to experiment with my photography; sometimes I want more than just capturing a scene that has been capture many times before.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…
This railway segment runs through the town, where I live, and I used to cross it every day on my commute. One day, on my way home, my eye caught the splash of color next to the steel rails, so I pulled over and went to take a closer look.
The rails looked great going toward the horizon, but I noticed that I was getting some lens flare due to the Sun’s angle. I was about to move my hand to block the effect, when I noticed the look that this created: desaturated on the left and bright color on the right! So I decided to go for this look, as it spoke to me of a deeper meaning in the juxtaposition of the two sides!
Definitely not the perfect shot in the classical approach to photography, but I felt that it created something more interesting!
Oh, and lest I forget: this was captured with an iPhone, as that was the camera that I had with me. But that’s material for another blog post, as the best camera is the one that you have with you!
Dutch goes the Photo! 