Brighton Beach is one of my favorite places to look for funny or interesting characters. There’s always something going on in this wacky coastal city. The people are amazing, kind, and friendly, which really does matter as a street photographer.
This time I thought I’d actually get into the water with my film camera since it was an incredibly hot day. I was incredibly hot from shooting Brighton’s famous narrow streets known as “The Lanes” all day. I managed to get some run-of-the-mill street scenes in these lanes, and my plan was to go to the seafront where most of my best photos in the city are taken.
Once at the beach, I got into the water with my camera. I was taking photos of people playing with a frisbee in the water. Some people were snorkeling. Then I managed to find this boy doing handstands in the water with his father. At first, the boy was positioned with the horizon of full sea behind him. I wasn’t so keen on having endless sea as a backdrop. I wanted to capture the British summer scene on the shoreline behind him. I couldn’t really go much deeper as I didn’t wanna risk salt sea water on my lens or camera, so I couldn’t get past him to take the photo from the other direction.
After about 5 minutes of taking photos of others in the sea, I turned round to go back to shore, and luckily the boy was in the perfect position. He had moved closer to the beach. His father was in his own world. And life unfolding along the beach. Finally, the boy did a handstand again, and I shot! I was so happy that I managed to capture him in the position and angle I had wanted. The beach running parallel with the boy.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
The colors of the photo make the scene pop – Kodak Daylight 800 taken out of a disposable! The second thing that I love is the Martin Parr-inspired documentary nature of capturing moments like this in British summertime. Raw, unfiltered, and a great little moment.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
I would have loved to get a little closer to really emphasize the boy’s legs in the air.
Lewis Hughan shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Lewis Hughan, United Kingdom
Equipment and settings
Ricoh AF5 point-and-shoot film camera
Kodak Daylight 800 film.
Shot at +3 stops.
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