BLACKS BEACH, San Diego, California, United States. [692 words]

Composition is usually a matter of balancing the shapes you have in front of you and suggesting relations of size to your viewers. In this image two humas figures photographed from a high vantage point are used to set the scale and create a texture counterpoint to portray the Pacific Ocean Coast.

I went from Torrey Pines Gliding Center to the top of the cliffs over Blacks Beach looking for a panoramic viewpoint to photograph the beautiful extensions of inhabited sand that is located North of San Diego. In fact I was looking to shoot a photograph parallel to the coastline, with the breaking creating a pattern that waves converged in the distance, but I found unexpectedly this couple entering the sea just below the cliff I was standing on, and changed my mind. I thought about using their shilouettes to counterbalance the shapes of the waves breaking in the coastline.

So I set myself facing the ocean, and waited a bit for them to be in the right position in relation to the waves. This couple allowed me to SET THE SCALE OF THE IMAGE (without the human size reference, the image becomes an abstract picture of water and foam) and ADD DRAMATISM to the scene BY COMPARISON allowing me to emphasize the FRAGILITIY and SMALLNESS of human beings against the force of Nature (The Pacific Ocean).

COMPOSITION

The natural foam of the breaking waves creates a beautiful white texture that makes the dark figures stand out. 

The couple is located in the lower third of the image, looking at the Ocean. Its size and relative position to the waves are the most important facts regarding composition. The fact that they are located in the middle of a big surface of foam confronting the hugeness of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by a wave they have already jumped over, and facing a new one that comes in the distance, makes them look ‘involved’ in the situation they’re in.

The natural foam of the breaking waves creates a beautiful white texture that makes the dark figures stand out. The fact that the waves are not parallel to the frame borders is important form the composition point of view. They add dynamism to the composition, creating two crosswise lines that add tension to the image.

SIZE OF THE HUMAN FIGURES

Having a zoom is key in these situations where you cannot move (you’re on top of a cliff) and you have no control over your subjects (as it usually happens in photojournalism).

To emphasize the comparison of man-Ocean, I made the human shapes in the frame as small as possible, setting my zoom to its longest position (200mm) to avoid including any portion of land which would have weakened the composition. I wanted to include sea, and only sea in this picture.

Having a zoom is key in these situations where you cannot move (you’re on top of a cliff) and you have no control over your subjects (as it usually happens in photojournalism).

IMPORTANCE OF TIME IN THIS SHOT

I had to wait some time until the swimmers were in the right position and the texture and waves created the beautiful balanced pattern that creates this image, when they were inside the water, but still standing on their feet. Had I waited for them to begin to swim, they would have become two heads (two small black points) floating over the surface, too small to stand out from the turmoil of foam around them to achieve the meaning I was trying to communicate. They had to be big enough to be recognizable as human beings. I waited for them to be also between two waves, which increased the sense that they were being surrounded by the hugeness of the Pacific Ocean.

THE POWER OF HUMAN FIGURE IN GRAPHIC TERMS

The human figure, graphically speaking, used even at very small sizes can balance much bigger textures and shapes. 

The human figure, graphically speaking, used even at very small sizes can balance much bigger textures and shapes. Let’s say it’s a ‘powerful shape’ when it is employed as a symbol, so it can be used effectively to counterbalance huge buildings and natural shapes like these waves.

 When you are able as a photographer to resume your picture in a word (for this image I’d choose ‘Smallness’ or ‘Fragility’), it means that you’ve succeeded in adding layers of meaning to a visual composition,  and that you have created a symbol… and that is one of the most powerful capacities of photography. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to all ‘Your Shot’ users who are asking for new pictures. I’m preparing some new ones to upload. Thanks for the ‘likes’ and for your patience!!!

EXIF DATA: Nikon D800 | Lens:  Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D used at 200mm | 1/1000s f8 ISO 200 |

This image Swimmers in Blacks Beach, San Diego, California is available for sale as an Open Edition Fine Art Print on sizes up to 50x73 inches (120x180 cm). Buy it here.