At the sunset

In the croatioan island of Losinj, last summer, while my wife and Iare strolling, enjoying the sunset, on our way to the restaurant, wemeet these two nuns, standing there, silent, without moving, looking,it seemed, at the people catching the last sun on the pier. I grabbedthis single shot, then we moved past. They did not seem to notice.

Thank you for comments and critiques! L.

the most unusual feature of this photograph is the vast expanse of cloudless sky included in the frame... it seems to harmonize with the stance of the two sharply delineated nuns... interesting that they remain sunless even as the people on the pier are drenched in sunshine...

Great shot.. I love candid shots like this....;-)

Shenandoah, many thanks! Rajat, the explanation for the lighting is simple. If you look up Veli Losinj, Croatia on google maps you will see the small town lies on a north-east facing cliff. On the satellite image you can clearly see the pier that is sunlit on the photo, and the trail, right above the water, where the photo was taken. While the pier was getting the latest light of the setting sun, the tril was simply shadowed by the rise of the ridge that forms the island and by the trees that were behind me. As you say, the evening was magnificent.

L.

Luca, I should have been clearer in my choice of words. I meant metaphorically interesting...

Yes I understood. But you see, I can be really pedantic at times, you know: every small detail should be clear. That kind of attitude. :-D L.

Luca, this is quite an amazing picture, especially since according to photography textbooks is a mistaken one. The main subject is not in light, whereas the background is. besides, the background is in focus. But still you managed to achieve a nice and pleasing image, with delicate lighting. Well done!

Marco

ps: I tried some cropping to enhance the nuns..

Hi Marco,

thanks for the kind words. I never considered the fact that the photo was not "by the book", but in a sense, it is true. Which perhaps goes to show that rules amight be relative. The background is of course in focus because the image was taken at 18mm f8: I don't recall now whether I did it on purpose or if it was a little piece of luck, but it was fortunate in my opinion. The way I see this image is that its strength is in the interaction between the nuns and the scenery they are looking at, it is not a portrait where you want the background to be blurred to avoid distracting the viewer from the face, it is a "street" (oh well...) shot where the point is the relationship between the humans and the environment.

This is also why I framed so wide: the peaceful sunset the two nuns are looking at (the sky in particular) was "making" the scene, partly by contrast with the two black figures.

Ciao & Grazie! L.