Dawid Sadkowski – Enviroment

HNC Photography Evaluation

3 Night City

30mm, 1/30s @f2,8 ISO800

Research and planning

Nostalgia inspired me to take this photo. I really like watching movies from the 60s - 80s.
Most of the films from that time have their characteristic haze, especially visible on light sources. My
favorite when it comes to photography in low light is Mike Will and it was from him that I got
inspired by how to play the colors in the photo.

I was taking photos near my house, so the location was familiar to me. Thinking about my safety, I
prepared a reflective vest to be visible to drivers on the road, especially during rain.
Contact sheet

Camera technique

The photo, unfortunately hand-held, was taken with the aperture fully open to let in the
maximum amount of light. With the ISO800 setting, I was able to arrange a decent exposure time
that guaranteed me the photo without blurring caused by shaking hands. To stiffen myself even
more, I knelt and leaned against the fence and tautened the camera on the strap.

Composition

The magic rule of thirds works out well as always. This time in the form of a "sandwich".
Negative space - Point of interest - Negative space. The part of the station that protrudes the most
towards the observer is in the middle. Also in the middle is the brightest part of the photo.

Post processing

I started post-production with the basic sliders and changing the tint to green. I also
emphasized green in the calibration. In HSL, I darkened a few other colours and chose the
appropriate shade of green. I improved photo noise and distortion. Then, in PS on the new layer, I
added a new glow colour from the light sources. I chose the overlay of the masks appropriately so
that they blend in very naturally.
Self-evaluation

As I mentioned earlier, this photo was supposed to be inspired by the end of the last
century, hence the haze and green colour that I feel like with old vhs films and photos taken on film.
The red colour appears there abstractly in order to look at the photo even more deeply and it
contrasts well with the green of the whole photo. I could use a tripod and try to capture a passing
car on a long exposure, but this version with an empty gas station appeals to me more. Another
advantage would be a better photo quality because I could close the aperture slightly and lower the
ISO.