About Chris Harrison
Chris Harrison is a professional graphic designer and shoots on the streets of Brighton, UK. When going on a photo walk he likes to stay open minded and experiment with what each moment has to offer. His street shot entitled “It’s the real thing”, showing a overturned coke cup by the shore is a excellent example of a Chris ability for creating graphically pleasing compositions. The image was chosen as finalist among a huge amount of entries in the Street Photography International Award (SPi) 2019. Read on and learn where and how Chris captured this expressive exposure.
Making Of Interview
Where and when did you make the photo, was it a familiar or new location to you?
I made the photo on Brighton Pier, which is a very familiar location for me. When I go out with my camera I almost always visit the Pier.
What was happening and why did you photograph the scene?
It was a really random moment that I almost ignored. Curiosity kicked in and I decided to shoot a couple of frames to see what it looked like.
Was it spontaneous or did you prepare the shot?
On the day I took this shot I remember feeling a lack of inspiration. I walked past the overturned cup, then went back to take a couple of frames. When I looked at the image on the back of my camera I saw that the wave on the sea and the wave on the cup almost lined up. So it was very spontaneous, I hadn’t foreseen the shot I would eventually take.
In case you made more that one exposure, could you please share some images and/or describe what you did to get it right?
I took a lot of frames to get the wave lining up with the wave on the cup. I’m shooting on a rangefinder, so due to the parallax error what I see through the viewfinder isn’t exactly what I get in the image. The cup was very close to me, and the wave was in the distance, so I had to keep adjusting my position as well as waiting for the perfect wave. Lots of trail and error.
Did the photo came out as you planned or did something unexpected happen and added to it?
I got the shot I wanted, the two waves lining up perfectly together, and in that frame a seagull just happened to fly through the shot at the same time. That was unexpected and kind of adds another point of perspective. I call this shot ‘It’s the real thing’.
What camera, lens, and settings did you choose? Was a gear setting/feature particularly important/useful?
I was shooting manually with a 35mm lens. 1/1500 second at f16. ISO 1250.
What makes this photo a good choice for submitting it to a street photography competition?
The optical illusion and it’s a little surreal. At first it’s hard to work out what you are looking at. Some people have also commented that it’s a good anti-plastic message, I’m really happy with that, although I didn’t create the image with that in mind.
Is there anything you took away / learned from making this picture?
Not to ignore a shot when your instincts give you a little nudge to be curious. Patience too, I had to wait a long time for the perfect wave.
Links to Chris Harrison
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/chrisharrison_photo/
Interview – https://eyeshotstreetphotography.com/chris-harrison/