Walking On Water (Peverill Point Long Exposure), Swanage

Walking On Water (Peverill Point Long Exposure), Swanage, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I've still got a couple more strangers shots to post from Venice, but thought I'd mix things up a little. The project is already overwhelming my Photostream!

Here's a quick long exposure from last night, out on Peverill Point in Dorset. I used a flashlight/torch to paint in the seaweed and spray - it could certainly be more even, but I only got one go before the sea reclaimed my vantage point.

The light from the left is a mix of blue hour and Bournemouth's light pollution. The shots that followed were a little too orange from sodium vapour lighting.

UPDATE: This is my second upload of this shot. The compression on uploading the first brought out a lot of banding, that was unapparent in the Lightroom version. I get a lot of issues uploading skies, and note contacts saying the same thing, so hope it's an issue the magic donkey is working on. I added 2% noise and a brush>splatter filter to the sky in an attempt to protect it this time round. It looks fine on iPad, but if I lower my head on the desktop monitor it still looks a little harsh. Commentary on this front would be hugely appreciated.

Hope everyone is having a great Easter!

Spindrift (Jessica In Snow), Rickmansworth Aquadrome

Spindrift (Jessica In Snow), Rickmansworth Aquadrome, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Quick post from recent snow. Jessica is reasonably keen on it, and somewhat tolerant of the cold.

It's the last week of the quarter, so my Flickr access is sporadic at best this week. Look forward to catching up with people on the other side.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Naomi (Stranger#18/100), Venezia San Marco

Naomi (Stranger#18/100), Venezia San Marco, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The Venice trip marks a milestone in my (early) 100 Stranger's Project; the point where my approach has (perhaps temporarily) crystalised to (a) find a background (b) determine exposure (c) wait for a stranger (d) shoot.

In some cases that gobbled up a little too much time, waiting for the right stranger to come by. In this case, Naomi turned up and kindly agreed to join in.

She was over from England on a photography trip with 100 others, and had just taken a solo trip out from the rest of the group. This is just inside one of the side alleys running parallel to the "Bridge of Sighs". Naomi is holding a gold striped reflector and I've shooting with an on camera softbox, to get a decent exposure in the shadows. It was a little tricky to judge - thank you Naomi for being patient on that front. It felt important to make sure the distant light of the alleyway was darker than her face, to make sure the emphasis was correctly balanced to give her centre stage.

Thanks Naomi for taking part in the project - as per our chat, I can't recommend it enough and really hope you decide to start one of your own. In any case, hopefully you got some great shots of Venice on your trip.

This is portrait #19 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Giovanni (Stranger #18/100), Venezia Arsenale

Giovanni (Stranger #18/100), Venezia Arsenale, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I met Giovanni on the Riva Ca di Dio, at the turning up to the Arsenale. He saw me spot him from some distant, and watched me walk the few hundred feet up to him with a sombre smile.

Whilst he was mid Sunday morning ritual - a walk up the Fondamenta Forni to stand and smoke looking out at the busy channel - he agreed to stop for a moment and allow a portrait for the project.

Not wanting to disturb his ritual I took a couple of steps to get a nice smooth background of Venetian building front. The chalky orange seemed to fit with his shirt and tinted spectacles neatly. I took a couple of shots straight on, but with the curve of the glasses it was impossible to avoid being reflected. A couple of steps to the side allowed for their reflection to shift to a nicely Venetian bridge - hence going with this shot without the eye contact.

A little while later walking back along the front I saw Giovanni smoking and we exchanged a solemn, but friendly, wave that made me feel a little 0.5% more rooted in this fantastic city.

Thanks Giovanni for allowing me to intrude on your morning - I hope you enjoyed your meditations on the lagoon.

This is portrait #18 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Apologies to my contacts for my sporadic presence - we're working quarter end at an Amercian company, so things are very exciting, but outrageously busy!

Niamh (Stranger #17/100), Venezia Arsenale

Niamh (Stranger #17/100), Venezia Arsenale, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Re-edited version. Thanks to everyone who advised on Flickr!

Pietro (Stranger #16/100), Venezia San Marco

Pietro (Stranger #16/100), Venezia San Marco, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I'm a bit of a slave to backgrounds for my stranger portraits, and having seen this ace shop front glowing through the grey pillars of San Marco square, I camped the spot for half an hour waiting for an appropriate stranger.

Pietro was that man.

He was smoking a black cigarette with a look of focused thought. Unexplained the project to him, and how so far I'd taken portraits of Londoners and New Yorkers. He gave an exact nod, and stated "...and Venetians." Flicking his cigarette straight into a bin three of four metres off with effortless precision, he straightened his jacket and we started.

He didn't want to check his shot on the LCD, saying he was too old, with a wry smile.

There's a car colour for the Fiat Punto in Italy titled "Intellectual Grey". If I didn't name my shots by formula for my project, that's what I'd call this portrait.

Thanks Pietro for letting me take your portrait, and for the elegant intelligence you shared.

Camera wise, this again used on camera fill flash with a little softbox. Perhaps I over exposed the right side of Pietro's face, but generally the flash is serving me well. It's fun to have a portrait in Lightroom and play the "shadows" slider end to end without noticing a change to peoples' faces.

This is portrait #16 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved. I can't recommend it enough.

Hope everyones having a great weekend.

Renato (Stranger #15/100), Venezia Fondamente Nove

Renato (Stranger #15/100), Venezia Fondamente Nove, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Renato's another Venetian local; kind enough to break his Saturday walk to chat for a couple of moments and take a portrait together.

He was a superbly no nonsense chap, with intense, polished style - as hopefully illustrated in the shot.

Renato - Thanks for taking part in the project. Your style is immense.

We only had time for three frames, and I was thinking chiefly about getting the flash settings right (even eTTL it's a new ball to juggle), so I wasn't at all sure with the composition of this. It felt at first like the wall was running the wrong way, but it's really grown on me. I think the hat line and collar somehow threads it together with the soft diagonals. It'd be interesting to know what people think.

Hope everyone is having an incredible week.