I live in gorgeous area of South West Queensland, just a few minutes from the holiday mecca that is Noosa. We enjoy miles of unspoilt beaches despite the main beach at Noosa and town itself seeing over a million visitors a year, at least up until recently. 

Over the past couple of years, since relocating from New Zealand, I have dramatically moved away from my previous go to aesthetic of long exposures, particularly seascapes.

Given time is often short with the competing demands of life I decided to reconnect with my Lensbaby optics to see if I could use them for a different type of ‘street’ (beach) photography, for the first year or so I exclusively used the single glass but after being inspired by viewing some work online (Susan Burnstine, I think) I switched to the Pinhole and can’t stop using it. I always shoot handheld and always with a slow enough shutter (0.3″) to accentuate any blur. 

Where I live is stunning, granted, but I do find it a little bland, my challenge then has been to find a way to connect with the lifestyle and the beaches whilst ensuring my thirst for exploring more artistic photographic challenges is being sated. The Pinhole is fitting the bill perfectly for me currently.

This image was made just ambling along the beach one weekend afternoon, looking for opportunities as I go. This wee chap was a hundred meters or so away with his folks, I hoped that I can reach him in time to fire off a couple of images, and that’s all I could do. I got two, from the waist level, just as he scooted past dragging his little blue board into the shallows.

What do you think are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!

I’m pretty happy with this image. I think the amount of blur is right, the colour palette works for me and the composition is ok.

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?

Possibly the boy being a little higher in the image. I often place my subjects towards the centre of the frame and when I’m creating images it’s always more about the emotional connection than any particular rules on composition.

Steve Allsopp shared his photograph in the FRAMES Facebook Group.

Photographer

Steve Allsopp, New Zealand
WEBSITE
INSTAGRAM

Equipment and Settings

Canon 6D
Lensbaby Pinhole/Zone plate optic.
Processed in Capture One Pro and textures added in Photoshop.