SEPTEMBER 2024 – A seagull passes the rising sun at the beach of Bellaria-Igea Marina near Rimini in Italy. Photo © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
I can hear you: “Oh, not another sunrise from Bellaria!”
Yes! – Let me explain.
2024. I had the tripod put up at the beach of Bellaria near Rimini and waited for the magic moment of the sunrise. And then it was slowly starting to glow at the horizon, behind the rocks in front of the beach, casting its warm light across the Adriatic Sea. Super nice, as most days.
Then a single seagull flew by, and I captured exactly the moment when it passed the rising sun. Spot-on! – And I thought: “That’s it! A once-in-a-lifetime shot, really.” I was happy.
Yet, when I reviewed the image later, I was deeply disappointed but really couldn’t say why. Even today, as I write this, I cannot put my finger on what’s wrong with the image, exactly. Here are my thoughts:
- The original image is slightly too wide, dwarfing the seagull to a few, almost black pixels in the center of the frame. A closer crop might have helped but even if I had had a real tele lens, I wouldn’t have had the time to mount it. The moment would have been long gone by the time the lens was monuted.
- The shape of the seagull is somehow awkward. It does not trigger the impression “This! Is! A! Seagull!” right away. Of course, the viewer understands that this is a sunrise at the sea, so the bird that flies by is most likely a seagull.
- The position right in front of the rising sun irritates my eye. The bird draws the attention, for sure, but not in a positive way. It seems to compete with the beauty of the sunrise and is rather an annoyance than a beautiful add-on.
- As authentic as the image is, it might simply put too many emotions into one frame. A beautiful sunrise. A glo at the horizon. And a seagull right in front of the sun. This is a magic moment that could be just overwhelming the viewer – and be perceived as kitsch.
Here are two variants that avoid some of these issues. They work better, but some issues remain.
I am still undecided whether I really like this once-in-a-lifetime shot. 😐
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 01-SEP-2024, 06:38 |
| Location | Bellaria-Igea Marina, Italy |
| Camera | Canon EOS M6 Mark II |
| Lens | Canon EF-M55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM |
| ISO | 800 |
| Exposure | 1/2000 sec at f/5 |
| Digital Image Source Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 3798 x 5697 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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