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Farmers Image Of The Week #312

Nikon D750 | Nikon 35mm 1.8

ISO 100 | f3.5 | 1/800

VSCO Portra 400 Tweaked

You know how it is… scroll, scroll, scroll through the old ‘Gram for 10 minutes and it’s all same old same old. Sadly it’s just getting crazy hard to stand out on there. I guess that’s through the sheer volume of images and also the quality. It’s also because quite a lot of emulation goes on, so images can start to look samey. But one photographer who always seems to stop me in my tracks is Sean Bell. He just time and time again produces outstanding work and he is one of the most modest photographers around. So I’m glad we have things like these Awards to celebrate photographers like Sean. Talking of celebrating, you know that you are invited to Farmers Awards next month down in Brighton as part of our Trade Show right? You don’t have to have won an Image of the Week yet or even be a Farmer. We just want to have a fun get together, so consider this your invite and jump on the tickets here.

But back to Sean and this image. What I love most about it is how Sean deliberately simplified the frame using the hard light and the shadows. The result is like a flash of rocks leading the eye to the couple. Their gestures are magnified as there is so little else to look at in the image and so their connection is very much apparent. All the images in this blog post from Sean are incredible but this one is particularly strong.

Read Sean’s take on this shot below …

What Sean says ...

“Callum and Tessa eloped from Canada and married in Edinburgh Castle. Callum’s Dad is originally from the Isle of Skye so the Scottish connection was strong! 
I really wanted to give them a mix of images from both the City as well as it’s more natural and rugged surroundings, so after the ceremony, we headed straight for Arthurs Seat, Edinburgh’s very own volcano.
 
I have shot here in the low Autumn light before and I always loved the way the crags are illuminated but the area behind falls into darkness, I never thought I would find the chance to shoot with a couple up there under this light so I was pretty psyched when we set off under clear skies and at a good hour of the day. I reckoned if we timed it right it would make for quite a minimalist image without the clutter of the background and also give the couple  a chance to wander for a while above the city, breathe and take it all in. There is a short window where the Sun is at the right height for it to fall into place so I was working quickly, racing against time as it dipped towards the horizon. Tessa had some chunky high heels on but they are both super keen hikers and well up for an adventure on rock, so both made quite easy progress, helping each other out along the way. I asked them to stick as close to the edge as possible as the top of the crag was casting shadows on the dress and after checking they were safe and happy I pointed them towards the lowest crease in the ridgeline and fired off a few frames as they walked into the evening”