Spotlight #6 (with second special guest)

Continuing on with the trend from last week, I've got on another friend who's venturing into the rabbit hole of photography. 

Funnily enough, Doug was my roommate for an entire year, and I had no idea that he was such a visual person, and yet now almost a year after moving out, we've reconnected over this simple common interest. 

One look at the picture, and you can see why I as interested in finding the story behind it. Here's what Doug has to say:

"So this is a photo I took while my family was traveling around Cinque Terre, back in September. There is a hike between the five cities that make up the Cinque Terre coast, we had been hiking most of the day, and we approached Manarola right around sunset. 

I shot the photo on my iPhone 6s, using the panorama function, and only lowered the brightness before taking the photo. I take a lot of sunset pictures, like too many, but there is something incredibly beautiful about this photo, it captures something beautiful, but it also captures a memory, which is how I feel every photo should be taken."

-Doug Lappe

Listening to what he had to say about it was awesome, because it's exactly how I feel about the pictures I take. It's the memory that makes up most of it, and invoking an emotion in the viewer is the best part about photography. 

Follow Doug here.

What are your thoughts on the picture? Do you have another view on photography overall? 

I would love to hear it. Leave a comment or two below. 

Cheers

Aman

Spotlight #5 (with special guest!)

This week's photo spotlight is something special. It's the first one featuring a fellow photographer but first a friend, Mike Schwarz.

This kid is a genius and is on his way to doing some great things. You can see what he's up to here. 

I've been following him for a while, and came across one of his pictures that i foundfascinating. It hit me hard, and got me curious about the story behind it. I immediately knew there had to be one because of the character and life that the picture has got. 

Here it is.

So i did a bit of digging around, and asked Mike if he'd be interested in talking about it.

And here's what he has to say about it

"I was visiting Cuba with my brothers. We spent four days exploring the island, meeting new friends, and eating everything we could.

They had left on an early flight out. Mine was the following morning.

I had one last day to salvage in the gorgeous city of Havana. What did I plan to do? Take photos, write, and drink rum.

I explored the streets for hours, documenting the incredibly unique architectural aesthetic, street food, and people found on every corner. After being driven around in several '52 Chevy Bel Air taxis, I learned of the incredible respect Cuban drivers have for their cars.

This mentality speaks to the Cuban's perseverance and resilience both economically and politically.

Each car takes on a character of its own in my photos. The bright colors, antiquated design, and unique drivers made this subject matter impossible not to obsess over.

I took probably over 100 car photos while in Havana. This one happens to be my favorite."

-Mike

Let me know what you guys think. Does this picture speak to you as much as it did to me. 

Be sure to follow Mike to see what crazy stuff he gets up to. 

Website - http://www.mschwarzthekid.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mschwarzthekid/

Instagram - http://instagram.com/mikeschwarzthekid

Spotlight #3 - New York, New Yawk

This week's spotlight is on one of my favourite pictures. 

It was early June of last year, and I was roaming through the streets of New York with a mate of mine. 

It was 6 in the morning. We had just got off the bus from Boston and were killing time before we took the train out to Long Island to get refreshed. 

As per usual, we traversed the High Line. 

The High Line in Chelsea is just one of the billion places in New York that's amazing, and it's easily one of my favourite spots. 

It appeases the side of my personality that loves to walk, and it also shows me so much of the city, which satisfies the adventurous explorer. 

The picture is from my time there.

Shot with an Iphone, the picture makes up for the lack of technical edge with the personal memories I have attached with it. 

What's your favourite spot in New York? What's your favourite city to shoot in, or just explore?

Leave a comment or two below and we can have a chat!

Cheers

Aman

Spotlight #1 - The white in the black

I'm introducing a segment where each week I choose one photo and talk about it. 

Simple enough. 

The pictures are ones that I truly find amazing - either mine, or anywhere off the internet. Credit will obviously given to photographers whose pictures I'm using. 

This week's picture is one that I found while going through my ridiculous stockpile of photos that I have spread out across my hard drives. 

So why is this picture so special?

Honestly, I can't tell you the one thing that really made me go "wow."

This picture was one of several I took when I was in Sri Lanka a few years back, and is just a generic landscape shot. 

I took in colour, and switched it to what you see now in the post-processing phase. 

It was as I was editing it, however, when I really felt it.

The vastness of the sky, and the streak of white that cuts vertically across it. 

Something in me just went "holy fuck, this is it!" and I knew that I had to leave it in black and white, with the contrast, brightness and everything else tuned to exactly what it is. 

When I look at it, I see a dystopian land that has ravaged everything, but yet there's some serenity and peace to it. Life is simple, plain and continues to move on. 

That could be pretentious as fuck for all I know, but it's a feeling I can't change. 

I would love to hear what you think, though!

Do you have pictures that you would like to contribute to the Photo of The Week column? Share links, pictures, screenshots, whatever you have. 

Also shoot a comment below or get in touch with me directly here, here, and here. 

Cheers, and see you next week!