By Jo Cripps.
An image taken at the St Kilda beach on a sunny afternoon. People were relaxed and enjoying the sunshine. I strolled along behind the timber decking area and found this young girl laying watching the people on the foreshore. She was so still and yet they were all over the place. I set up the camera and kept my fingers crossed that she would stay still. The other girl sitting in front also sat for the duration – bonus. I love the contrast between the stillness of the first two girls and the crowd on the foreshore. I took this image with a black and white image in my mind.
The Watcher
By Jo Cripps
Canon 5D Mark III; 24-27mm lens @ 35mm; tripod mounted; Lee polariser filter; f/8; 30s; ISO 50.
Don’s response
Who doesn’t enjoy a little mystery in a photograph? Jo Cripps’ The Watcher offers the viewer no explanation as to the nature of the ghostly figures standing on the edge of a bay. Nor is it entirely clear if the woman in the foreground is even looking at them. Her head’s in the right position, but you can’t tell if her eyes are even open.
As all photographers know, you often have to take what you find in a situation like this. Nice as it would have been not to have the distracting seated figure on the left, about the only option would have been for the photographer to have moved to the right a bit. The other obvious alternative would be to experiment with a non-standard aspect ratio that would crop out the figure in question. It might be worth a try because this image is all about the relationship of the watcher and those distant figures.
