Visual Narrative Exploration

The story of the shooting

The photos were shot a few days after Melbourne’s lockdown ended. Taking advantage of the nice weather and a little spare time, I took advantage of the first rays of daylight to take my camera and measure the temperature of the city’s atmosphere. These are photographs taken on the streets of Melbourne with the topic «Melbourne Freedom Blossom». The narrative behind this is that, despite the fact that the lockdown has ended and individuals have been permitted to reconnect, most people are still separated and alone, but on the outside. As though nothing had changed, and the city was gently waking up from its slumber. In this shot, we see a man strolling away from the throng, most likely on his way home from work or out for a walk. The street is desolate, and the majority of the stores are closed. We have the impression of someone who is lonely, wandering, or perhaps lost.

Lighting and composition

I’ll be able to experiment with the shadows and texture of my elements due to the light and composition. The objective here was to have as much natural light as possible and to experiment with different versions of it depending on the hour. The reflector is employed here to direct a second source of light away from the sun, erasing the shadows that have formed on the ground.

Why this choosing this image?

This image caught my attention more than the others since, when it comes to street photography, there are many pictures where the conditions are poor and it is hard to shoot the photo again because it must be spontaneous. This photograph has nice qualities, and seeing this man strolling alone against the crowd reinforced the idea of contradiction between the restored freedom and the lockdown. He is also one of the few subjects who isn’t fascinated with his phone, and the fact that he walks gives us a sense of mobility that I do not see in the other photos. Finally, because the person is back, we cannot see the expression on his face, creating a sense of mystery that allows our imagination to go wild and helps us to understand his sentiments at that moment.

Detail characteristics

The photo was shot in natural light; the left side of the image is darkened, while the right side is bright. It was difficult to get the appropriate setup such that there was not too much overexposure. Colours and contrasts were boosted in post-production for the darker areas and softened for the most overexposed parts. Similarly, work on the lighting and shading of the subject has been done so that it stands out from the rest of the image. Similarly, a directional blur effect has been placed around the subject to give the shot the appearance of movement. This creates a contrast between the subject and the remainder of the composition, causing the subject to stand out and contrast with the rest. We are being forced to focus our attention on this one. In addition, effort has been done to eliminate extraneous items on the sidewalk, such as dead leaves or even manhole covers, in order to strengthen the void surrounding the subject and isolate it from the rest of the picture. The next step was to examine the image to ensure that the rule of thirds was followed and that our subject was appropriately placed on the grid. Lastly, the final result confirms the sense that our subject travels alone in the other way of the throng, and the various work done on the shading and lighting of this one makes it much more remarkable, and our eyes tend to walk with it.