Shoot in inspiration from Chris Burkard

Shoot plan- 

After searching into Chris Bukards work I decided I would like to conduct a shoot in inspiration from his work. He explores capturing the relationship between humans and nature, he does this though travelling too insane remote locations to shoot landscapes. His images are energetic and inspiriting so decided I would like to incorporate a similar idea into my work by exploring Cornwall's unique landscapes. He focuses more on the landscape and composition compared to the surfing itself so I decided to follow a similar idea so my work can have a wider variety of focuses and compositions. I am intending to employ using a very fast shutter speed to get really good quality, detailed images. I would like to explore Chris Burkard's style of photography into my work- he takes a more editorial approach which focuses on documenting a place for publishing purposes. Therefore I decided I would try and shoot in a similar kind of way focusing on capturing images which would look as if they could be published. I would like to capture images which work with my previous images iv taken, so that for my magazine project they will work together when I lay them out next to each other. I have previously focused on capturing surf for example working in inspiration form Nick Pumphrey and Woody Gooch however this shoot will be taking a different approach to it so it focuses more on the landscape point of view. I intend to use the rule of thirds to organise the elements into the frame. The horizon will be the centre line however I will experiment with positioning the landscape in different areas of the frame to create unique compositions. I will be walking along the coast from Gwithian to Godrevy to explore different compositions and coastlines which I can capture. I have chosen Godrevy because of the unique landscape and the well known lighthouse which would look really effective in the background in my images as it would make the frame more interesting. I will be using a Canon EOS 7d for this shoot so that I can get high quality images. This shoot will take around 1-2 hours as I will have to time the perfect waves and I will be exploring different spots to shoot from along the coastline so I can get a variety of shots. I will not be using assistants or models, I will be shooting unknown surfer. Equipment list: Canon EOS 7d, SD card and battery. I will not be using a tripod for this shoot because I will be walking around so need a lightweight set up. The weather will ideally be sunny as it will enhance the lighting in the images however I can also shoot in overcast. I will have to arrange this shoot in consideration of the swell and tide times to get the best waves I can. 

Thumbnail sketches- 

Contact sheet-


Final Images-


Editing- To edit these images I used Lightroom, I adjusted the brightness and contrast of the image. I increased shadows and brightness to create more of a contrast between the light and dark areas. It has been quite tricky to edit these images are the natural lighting is very bright so it was hard to edit in contrast into the background without effecting the foreground, therefore the background doesn't have as much dark areas as I would like. 

Settings used- Canon EOS 7d, ISO 100, 75mm, f/4.5, 1/1000 seconds. 

Evaluation- 

The starting points off this shoot was to work in inspiration from Chris Burkard's style of photography. I started this shoot with wanting to shoot focusing on unique backgrounds and landscapes which could help to make my images more interesting. I also wanted to shoot in an editorial type of style which helps me explore shooting in different styles and using different techniques. For example in this shoot I used a high quality camera and fast shutter speed so that if it would be used by a magazine it would fit their standards. Chris Burkard inspired me because he captures surfing in a different unique way and captures jaw dropping images which almost look fake by how outstanding the scenery in them is. I wanted to try and create some unique images inspired by his style and use of interesting backgrounds into my own work. Throughout this shoot I have learnt that shooting from lots of different spots at a location is really effective. This is because it creates more of a variety of outcomes and means you can have multiple perspectives and compositions which are all different. I tried looking at the landscape in a different way so that I could think of new ideas to capture it, as I have shot here (at Godrevy) a lot I usually go for the same angles however, this time I tried to think of new ways I could capture it and it worked out really successfully. I really enjoyed this shoot as it made me think of shooting in a different way and expand my ideas when shooting surfing. As I usually shoot using a slow shutter speed to create motion blur it felt odd using a faster shutter ( I used 1/1000 sec) and I actually found it much easier as all of the images came out effectively compared to a slow shutter when most images are throw aways. Therefore, using this technique (fast shutter to create detail) worked really effectively in this shoot and is something I would like to explore further in my work. I am really pleased with the work that I have produced in this shoot - it has been one of my favourites. This is because they conditions tuned out perfectly, the swell and tide were just right which created peeling waves across the bay. The weather was also full sun which is perfect for shooting as it made bright lighting and enhanced the colour of the sea and landscape. The images also has a nice variety of compositions as I shot from multiple angles. In the future I need to develop my skills using manual settings as the images were slightly over exposed- this meant they lacked contrast so it was tricky to edit into the images- this has meant that the background is quite light and lacked shadows in the final images which isn't the effect I was looking for, however this is an easy fix and I will make sure to learn from that in my next shoot. Overall I Avery pleased with the shoot and the outcomes from it and would like to conduct a similar one again in this project. 

Favourite final image-


This is my favourite final image because it incorporates one of Cornwalls well known landscapes of Godrevy lighthouse. This is the idea I wanted to incorporate from Chris Burkard's work of including unique landscapes in the background of photos swell as still following my theme of surf. I am very pleased with how this image has turned out and the composition of the waves in relation to the lighthouse and the use of people to show scale. 

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