Kuta Beach, Bali

Kuta Beach, Bali © Stewart Weir 2006

Story behind the image – Plaça de la Universitat, Barcelona

Plaça de la Universitat, Barcelona late in the evening. Just because it’s raining means nothing of your shooting a travel feature. You land in your destination and only have a few days or maybe a week to get what’s needed so time is your enemy and so should tiredness. I would work from before dawn through to late in the evening every day. Your maybe working with a writer or maybe your on your own and maybe a location that isn’t tourist friendly so you may need a ‘fixer’ (someone you hire to interpret and who knows the region well). As with all things preparation and research is the key. As with all things photographic expect the unexpected and plan for every eventuality you can think of.

I had walked through Plaça de la Universitat many times but never seen an image worth taking. The rain changed everything that night and turned a rather bland lump of pavement into something special. For me its the lighting and the reflections of the wet pavements and of course the walker with his red bag that creates a focal point. Red umbrellas are out and red bags are in! Does this work as a travel shot? For some magazines yes and some no. Understanding the flavor of who your shooting for is absolutely essential and shooting to their brief in your style is the key to success.

Story behind the image – La Manche

Last light on a cross channel ferry from Calais to Dover. Using a Leica X1 with the ISO rated at 1600, aperture at f2.8 and shutter at 1/30th second. Its an image I didn’t think would work because it was windy so not easy to keep a small camera steady. For me this image works because of the contrast between the water and sky with the faint warm glow of a light in the distance. This image has just been sharpened with no other Photoshop tweaks.

 

Cat Women

Aperture Priority, 1/200th second at f4, Minus 1/3rd Exposure Compensation, ISO 100. Lady feeding stray cats close to Ramblas in Barcelona. There should be 2 cats by the grey wall on the left. Camera shy cats will wait a very long time but the cat lady wasn’t going to hang around.

Gothic Barcelona

Exposure Set To Manual. 100 ISO 1/400th second at f5. Minus 1/3rd exposure compensation Center Weighted Average Metering