Finding Texture and Peace in a Simple Ocean Photograph

Texture is the first thing that jumps out when I see this photograph. That, and the deep tone of the blue filling the frame. I was in Barbados with my family and we were all enjoying a sunset cruise off the coast. We had a wonderful swim in the ocean, and I saw lots of fish as we snorkeled over a sunken wreck. It was magical and it reminded me I needed to put an underwater camera on my wish list.  I, of course, brought my camera and as soon as I was dried off, I took it out to enjoy some photography time. I was staring at the ocean after taking photographs of the land that we were passing. Those previous photographs were framed with the ocean, the shoreline in the distance and the sky. This one was just of the sea.

On this trip, I had only brought my 50mm lens. I like to challenge myself to shoot more with that lens. It creates wonderful quality photographs and I also love the fact that it is so light. It makes my, already heavy, hand luggage setup way lighter. One of my favourite travel lenses (24 – 70mm) is still broken, a lens I love for the versatility of the type of photographs I can compose within a session. Due to it being out of commission, I’ve been carrying my 16-35 and my 50mm on trips to have more flexibility, but oh, the weight on travel day and in my beach bag! Just bringing the 50mm alone gives me more of a challenge as I have to back it up like a dumpa truck to capture my landscapes and group portraits. That being said, I also like the fact that it makes me think about each shot more and I am therefore less on autopilot when framing my work.

Walking around to different parts of the boat, I was mostly looking out to sea capturing photographs as the scenes fell away. I started to stare at the ocean. I put my camera to my eye and filled the frame with the ocean.  No shoreline in the distance and with no sky, I angled my camera down, took a breath and clicked the shutter. I smile looking at this photograph now. A moment noticed and arranged and captured.

The photograph makes everything still but for me I still feel the movement looking at it. It feels energetic and the dark blue colour is vibrating and uplifting me. Perhaps it’s the tone of the blue? But what I love the most about this photograph is the texture. It feels like it jumps out of the screen. I love that at first I see only blue but on second reflection, as I stare at it, I see more colours. I see varying shades of blue, white and grey, many colours harmonizing within the frame. Many times, we gloss over what is around us. We don’t make the time to really stare and reflect on the images that we see on a daily basis. Having a chance to really spend time with this photograph, this subject matter many of us know so well, the tones and the patterns make me feel at peace and filled with awe. I can imagine a painter using thick acrylic paint to create this piece – using thick white strokes for the parts that the light is touching. With each stroke, the painter hones in, spends time observing, and then translates the beauty that surrounds us onto the canvas. This observation practice is something that we can do as well. By stopping and observing from time to time, we can translate the moments and scenes around us into our being.

The lines, the texture, the tones. I am curious as to how this photograph will translate when printed. I will certainly share a photograph of the print and my thoughts with you all when I get it done!

Spend some time with this piece and let me know how it makes you feel.