Golden Beach Afternoon
Telling a story through photography is the fourth dimension of the art. An element that helps takes a photo from a ‘record shot’ to a photograph. Sometimes the story is obvious, sometimes obscure and sometimes it is a universal story. Never assume that the viewer will interpret the image the same way as the photographer thinks the story is told. The person that took the image was there and knows what was going on before and after that moment in time, the photographers eyes are clouded by the facts. The viewer comes with their own experiences and emotions. So unless the tail being told is universal the reading will differ from reader to reader.
The story in this image can be seen a number of different ways. Is the man approaching a stranger? The dog appears to be taking a defensive stand. Perhaps he is a friend or their father; he appears to be walking confidently toward the young surfboarders. Why are the boys facing the approaching walker? There is a story but there may be many interpretations. That’s not a bad thing, just the type of image it is.
The silhouettes are well done in that they attract the observer’s attention and can be easily identified. The composition consists of three surface textures; the water, the wet sand and the dry sand. The low light plays off each of these textures making the edge of the wet and dry sand a leading line through the composition.
There are a couple suggestions the photographer may want to think about. There appears to be a define green color cast to the image as presented. To reduce green you apply a little of its complementary color, magenta. Then I would also add a little blue to help balance the yellow, this will result in more of the golden hue. The other comment has to do with the empty beach behind the surfboarders. The photo-artist may wish to have this negative space for their composition and story, which is their call. But it might be tried cropped down a little so that a portion of both of the shadows on the sand are cropped.
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