Every year on my birthday, my wife and I stay in the city in a different hotel. I am always excited and enthusiastic about being in the heart of the city, ready to capture any interesting characters or scenes. We live up the coast about an hour away, so I don’t get to shoot in the CBD that often.
After spending the first night in a retro hotel, we had breakfast and headed out for a photo walk. I was walking around the Chinatown area, and I noticed a trail of monks walking past me. This is unusual and rare, so I followed them further into the city while they stopped to give out food to a group of people. I really wanted to get a shot of the monks walking in a line juxtaposed in an interesting area.
This was all taking place in the shade, so I decided to give up getting a photo of them and head back into Chinatown. I noticed this new colourful mural on the wall and was immediately inspired by the theme and design. After shooting for a few minutes, I got lucky. The monks I saw earlier walked past the mural in front of me, and I took some good shots. I couldn’t believe my luck!
I thought this was the best shot I took that day, but instead of leaving, I kept on shooting. After a few minutes, a few interesting characters started to walk past. Then a woman dressed in yellow with a blue bag walked into the scene! Sometimes the stars align. I took a few shots as she walked past and settled on this one. The colours worked wonderfully. The other shot of the monks is also a keeper, but the colour matching of the single lady kept talking to me. Sometimes simpler compositions are more powerful.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
I love the colours and composition of this image. It is well balanced and the colours work.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
I would frame it slightly differently and maybe try a different time of day so the light isn’t so harsh.
Gavin Libotte shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Gavin Libotte, Sydney, Australia
Equipment and settings
Fujifilm X100V with a 28mm lens converter
1/1000 sec., f/11, ISO800
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