Polly Thronsen + The Story Behind
Peaceful. Tranquility. Self Being. Those are just a few of the words that came to mind when we saw Polly’s extraordinary photo in our IG tag feed. There is something extremely therapeutic about her image that we wanted to know what made her press the shutter button and why it means so much to her. So without further ado, let’s welcome Polly in this week’s installment in our The Story Behind series:
IG Handle:.
@pollyjanephotography
What inspires your art?
Light! I’m constantly drawn too light. I can’t even manage to hold a conversation when I see beautiful light.
Where was this photo taken?
Fiji!
How did the location add or hinder to your image?
Because I live on the east coast of Australia, in Sydney. I never get the sun setting over the ocean. So while holidaying in Fiji, I was pretty excited to have this here.
DSLR, iphone, instant or film?
DSLR | Canon 5D Mark IV with a Sigma 35mm 1.4L lens.
What were your camera settings for this image?
ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/1000.
Can you tell us “The Story Behind” this shot?
We recently moved to a house with a pool, and I introduced this love for floating peacefully on water to my son. His expression suggests just how I feel when I do this, completely relaxed.
What speaks to you about this image? What specifically made you press the shutter?
The light and his face. His expression of pure relaxation and that perfect sunset glow.
What was your composition technique with this shot?
Centre, with the beautiful sunset hitting the rule of thirds. I wanted to see plenty of water around him, so centre composition worked perfectly for this.
Did you have any lighting challenges/How did you light the image?
No, lighting was pretty easy here. As the sun had almost set, the light wasn’t harsh. I under exposed, so I didn’t loose detail in the sky (and that beautiful sunset), then I used the radial filter in Lr, to bring the exposure back up on my son’s face.
Did you use any special techniques – freelensing, prism, etc?
No.
Was this photo happenstance or did you visualize it prior? If so, how did you envision the image and set up for it?
I’ve had a vision for this shot for a very long time, and now with the perfect conditions, I could capture it. It stems from my love for floating on water, I love how relaxing it is.
Did you use a preset to edit this image, your own selective edits or a combination of both?
I used a SMAL preset with a lot of my own selective edits.
Want to see more of Polly’s amazing work? Then follow her at the links below:
SITE | FACEBOOK