Photo Remix 03
September 5th, 2015
San Diego, California
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art
ƒ/1.4
1/160 s
35 mm
ISO 50
Straight out of camera image
It’s a snapshot that isn’t technically good, particularly well-exposed, or even all that recoverable in post - but it’s still a photo I like. I can’t explain it. My lizard brain just takes over and it scratches an itch. It also happens to be a photo of someone I love, so yes, I’m probably biased.
I overexposed parts of the image to the point of almost no recovery. The photo is still usable as a snapshot, but I should have stopped down the aperture (and yeah, that seems to be a recurring theme in this Photo Remix series). I also could have nudged the shutter speed faster, because the waves aren’t tack sharp. The brightness nuked most of the color, leaving everything muted and muddy. The massive halo of clipped highlights in the sky is hard to ignore. Framing-wise, I should have dropped the horizon and given the subject’s body more breathing room. Oh, and I should’ve told Jeff that jean shorts were NOT back, even in 2015.
2015 Edit:
I don’t love the direction I went leaning into this cooler color, but I like how I went “full send it”and added more exposure just to try to highlight the subject and the ocean, sky be damned.
This image is a personal snapshot, so I was likely using a quick and dirty VSCOfilm preset (RIP) as I passed by it during the photo import process, but I wish I had spent a little more time on it because I recently saw this photo next to the straight out of camera image and thought…here’s another option for a Photo Remix.
I also didn’t straighten the horizon in this edit, probably because I felt straightening the horizon almost caused the subjects feet to be cut off? That’s the only rationale I can think of for the time.
2025 Edit:
With this image’s exposure being borked from the very beginning, the only redeeming quality is the texture provided by the ocean and the rocks I figured going black and white was my best chance for this redemption.
I applied a mask to Jeff and reduced the contrast on his body and clothes to make him stand out against the contrasty midground. I applied a mask to the sky and just brought the highlights down to a manageable level, then finally, I had a mask for the rocks and the water and brought down the clarity which gave the specular highlights on those areas a nice smeary texture. Then finally, I straightened that horizon line.
I did experiment with a color edit, but the I couldn’t find a version that I was happier with than the straight out of camera version.
The lesson here? Even when we get clinical about what makes a photo “good” or technically correct, sometimes we just find beauty in the imperfect. If I had shot this image in a “technically correct” manner, would it have had the same effect on me? This image just feels dreamy to me. It drags up a vague memory of a moment I may not even fully recall - but I’m glad this frame exists, even if it’s not perfect.