Venice, one of the most romantic and beautiful cities of the world, home to so many artists and artistic activities. I fell in love with a city I thought I'd never fall in love with. This trip really reminded me of how powerful art is.
The idea
While on the ferry to the main island back from Murano, my gaze stumbled upon this beautiful scene which filled me with such awe that, at that moment, I new how much this place was magic. This was like a dream view of a man rowing atop a sea of gold set in a magical kingdom. It's like a painting from a book of fantasies.
Venice is something else, it inspires dreams and it takes you to another world. It's a place where you bathe in the strength of the human will to thrive in an environment that is incredibly hostile to life. That majestic nature is what I wanted to grasp.
The technique
I wanted to catch the sun in the perfect center because I knew the light would give me this beautiful yellow ray that swiveled all the way from the background to the foreground. The result I managed to grasp was unlike any other I could have hoped for. The golden colors shimmering on top of the waves, and the background completely darkened with a visibly blue tint helped make the colors pop out from one another and bring something extra to the various elements of the composition.
Talking about the composition, there is a balancing act between symmetry and asymmetry. The sun, in the middle, setting the axis of the whole picture, while the background structure and the foreground gondoliers giving a flow to the whole all settle together to make something quite extraordinary.
Although I do believe in breaking common art rules, in photography it is very crucial to keep in mind how the composition is built and how it counts the story of the photo. In this example, there are three lines one must be aware of :
The vertical centered line which separates the picture in two, and helps us connect the top (the sky) to the bottom;
The horizon line set almost perfectly in the middle of the picture, which helps separate what is above (the higher, the holy...) and what is below (the people, the workers, the earth and the sea);
Finally, there is a connection between the background and the foreground. The structure in the back is almost the same color as the people in the front (had I retouched the photo, I would have made that similarity more obvious), and there is like an amalgamation of bodies on the right of the photo that seems to shape a triangle. Basic shapes tell the viewer where to look, and this one is not pure coincidence. From the top of the spire, to the gondolier on the left, and back to the right with the two boats, you can clearly see the path one would take when looking at this picture.
Below, a schematic explanation of what I talk about :
This composition helps the viewer "read" the photo and gives them a sense of structure. It's like telling a story: you start with explaining the context, talking about the characters, developing the stakes and so on and so forth until you have the main character(s) arrive at the climax and conclusion of it all. In photography, the eye is still the main source of information gathering, but words are replaced with images and the sequences one follows to "read" the picture are akin to chapters of a book.
I never edited this photo whatsoever, although the laboratory most likely pushed the contrast a bit too much, giving that accentuated golden look to the piece. But the very nature of the scene was incredible in and of itself. It was all I could have hoped for. In my series in Venice, I think this is one of my best accomplishments.
There was a risk when taking this picture, which is that I could have had faded background due to the sun. In order to compensate, I considerably reduced the aperture - to f/16 - which ensured I eliminated that blown out effect, but also that the background was visible.
The difficulty with old cameras such as the Olympus OM20 is that, if not handled properly and on manual, the image can easily get too dark or blurry. It's a long process of learning how to use your film, your lens and your camera to get what you're looking for (or not, the unpredictable nature of film is also incredible). This is all what makes film photography even more exciting. I have the chance to have had a lot of experience with this set up, and during my trip to Venice, I considerably honed my knowledge and skills.
Tools
Camera: Olympus OM20
Lens: 50 mm f/1.8-16
Film: Kodak Gold 200
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