Shoot in inspiration from Xugeli

Shoot plan-

From this shoot I took inspiration photographer Xugeli who captures unique moment exploring light and creative compositions. He explores shooting bright direct sunlight, I usually avoid this because of glare on the camera however when used correctly it can look very effective. I decided to experiment with this as its a technique I haven't done before and I would like to add some variety to my images. For this shoot I decided to go to a famous local surf break-  Porthleven which rarely works however there are many spots and angles to shoot form here so I will be able to explore many different compositions. The starting ideas of this project is to find unique ways to capture surf and skate culture so looking into Xugeli's work really inspired me into finding new ways to capture it. I will he focusing in using slow shutter speed to create motion blur around the surfer. This is a technique I have used throughout my project and I really enjoying using it- it is very effective in making images more interesting and more unique. I would like my photos to work together effectively and add to the collection of images I have collected this year. This shoot is similar to the one I conducted in inspiration to Woody Gooch which explores similar techniques however  Xugeli uses different angles. I will explore different compositions and explore the rules of thirds to arrange elements in the photo such as the surfer and wave in relation to the landscape/ background and horizon. This shoot should take around 3 hours as I will shoot for a few hours and setting up in the right areas as well as walking around to get different angles as there is multiple breaks around Porthleven. Equipment list: Camera, battery and SD card. The weather conditions would hopefully be dry and ideally sunny and if it'd raining I will not be able to shoot. I will have to time the tide and swell correctly to get the perfect conditions for this shoot.

Thumbnail sketches-

Contact sheet-

Editing-

These images where shot in mizzle so it was very tricky to get the correct setting on manual to enhance the image. Due to the dull lighting and weather conditions there was not much contrast in the image at all so it needed a lot of editing. I started by increasing the brightness and consorts slightly, then I played around with decreased the blacks and increasing the whites to create more contrast in the images. Each image needed different editing due to constantly changing lighting. I experimented with changing some images into black and white to create a more eerie effect. I Avery pleased with how the editing helped enhance these images to make them look even better. I also experimented with changing hues and saturation to make the wave bright and stand out. Cropping some of the images helped as well to get closer up to the subject.

Settings used-  ISO 100, 160mm zoom, f/5.0, 1/40 seconds 

Final images-

Evaluation-

The starting points of this shoot was to shoot in inspiration from Xugeli of his unique compositions and angles as well as exploring slow shutter speed which is a technique he explores in his work. In my thumbnail sketches I drew I wanted to explore different angles which I managed to put into practise and create similar compositions. Xugeli inspired me because of the energy and motion he manages to capture in his images, he captures the bubbly excitement and atmosphere of surfing which Is something I wanted to try and capture as well. He also captures other emotions. atmospheres such as a still, eerie effect which is something I wanted to explore in capturing in my own work. I have learnt through this shoot that exploring different angles and compositions is really effective as it gives more of a variation to the outcome. I really enjoyed this shoot a lot as the location was insane to see and I managed to get the swell perfect with the tide so the conditions where just right for shooting. I also found a perfect spot to stand to get different angles from all 3 peaks so I could capture a variety. The slow shutter technique was really effective in capturing the momentum of the wave and still focusing on the surfer in the centre of the image. however there was lots of throw away images as it was hard to keep my hand steady without a tripod so sometimes the blur was off and ruined the image. The other less successful area of this shoot was using manual was tricky as I had to alter the setting continuously to match the lighting. I had to increase the ISO to make the images brighter however this created grain which I don't usually like in these images. I am very pleased with the work I have produced, the outcome came out very well with some very successful images. In the future I need to explore using a tripod however I find it tricky to bring to shoot as it is so large to carry around and most surf spots are quite a walk so its heavy however it would improve the quality of the images and make more of them work with slow shutter. If I did this again I would use a tripod to make the images more steady. 

Final-

Overall this is my favourite image from the shoot because the slow shutter work really well to create the perfect motion blur as the surfer glides across the surface of the wave. The editing really helped to enhance this images as well to create more blue and green on the surface. The composition is really effective here as well. I managed to match the speed of the surfer moving as I panned the camera so it blurred perfectly across the wave as the lip breaks over the surfers head. The composition works well because it splits the picture in half and the background makes the wave stand out more against it. Overall I am really pleased with this image and the other outcomes of the shoot.