KISHAN THAKRAR

I took inspiration from Phoebe Rudomino and Mark Mawson primarily when taking these photos in response to their work. I used a low end underwater camera, which was the best I had available; I therefore could not focus the camera manually, or adjust exposure and aperture as I normally would with a DSLR. Taking the photos was tricky as I had to keep the camera as still as possible - the shutter speed was automatic and based on the lighting it would decide a value. 

 

I focussed primarily on light and composition. I wanted to make the most of the lighting around me, and the composition of the images was important in sustaining interest throughout each image. Some are rotated, to give the illusion of a warped perspective. This was quite a simple edit but I felt it made a vast improvement to what could have been a more dull image.

 

I had already intended to rotate the images that were 90 degrees, to respond directly to one of Mark Mawson's photos of a man lying below the surface made to look like he is standing upright, looking at his reflection.

 

When editing, I was cautious not to add too many adjustments, and I wanted to keep the colours similar throughout; a dramatic, warm blue look. The first image is inspired by Rudomino's image with the swimmer and the fire beneath (click image for description). To disguise the low quality of the camera, I also added some uniform monochromatic noise to some of the images, which adds grain to the image, almost giving a cinematic look as well. The splashes of water were well lit by the light source from above, and I enhanced these by increasing the 'Whites' and then increasing 'Clarity' in Adobe Lightroom. I also added a soft vignettte to the last image, which brings out the central focus of the image quite dramatically.