Just the other day, as I was going through my drawer, I found an old camera of mine. A more than 10 years old DSLR I haven’t used in quite a while. It was my first DSLR, a camera that I primarily used to document my family life. When I got more interested in photography I moved on to mirrorless cameras. Curious about its capabilities, I decided to try it out the next day on my walk to work. In a time where people are changing photo gear almost as often as underwear, I love the idea of proving it’s the photographer and not the gear that really matters. I loaded the batteries and fitted a 50mm ff equivalent prime lens on it. To shoot a DSLR is in my opinion quite a different experience compared to using a mirrorless camera. Not better, not worse, just different. Especially the lack of an EVF, in favour of an OVF, makes the experience an interesting one.
Regrettably, the next day was quite gloomy. Faint light, pale colours and even some light rain. I was however glad to pass a very beautiful building, the Stenbock palace, on my way to work. The Palace, situated on the islet of Riddarholmen in central Stockholm, was built in 1640. Originally it was built in a renaissance style but was later rebuilt in 1670 and now in a roman baroque style. The building has served different purposes through the years and is today used by the Supreme Administrative Court.
I have always loved it’s colorful facade and decided to take a few shoots of it. As I was running late for work, I only had a few minutes to spare. I framed the shot and was very happy to include an interesting character passing by! Two shots and I was on my way again.
What do you think are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
A picture can tell a thousand of stories and I like to keep my images open for the viewer to apply their own interpretations. But what I often strive for in my street shots is some sort of simplicity. I’m interested in capturing what I consider to be interesting graphical details in the urban landscape and I almost always try to include one or two human elements, that can both convey some sort of emotion and give the viewer a sense of scale. I think the slightly moody body posture of the person passing by fits the gloomy morning and is in an interesting contrast to the colorful facade. I believe that is what makes the image come together!
If you would be able to make this photo once again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?
Hard to tell! What I really love about photography is the element of chance. I love to take photos in an urban context. The city offers me interesting architecture, graphical elements, colors, shadows and reflections. All these things are given, but what you cannot plan for is people. Who will enter the image and what will the person bring to the scene? I am happy with this image, but I imagine it could be radically different, for better and for worse, depending on light, weather, time of the day etc.
Marc Zetterblom shared this photograph in the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Marc Zetterblom, Stockholm, Sweden
Equipment and settings
Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO1000, -0,3EV
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michael grover
July 18, 2022 at 16:39
My type of image! I quite often find a nice (white) wall to use as a back drop ,although I tend to mostly go for a mono image.Nice to see Marc’s in colour.I also noticed that Marc’s setting was at -3EV!