Editor’s Choice: On the Rocks

You won’t find many photos on Zonerama that resemble this one by Giulio Brusoni. It may be because few photographers are also mountain climbers, or it may be because they don’t like heights, or because working with a camera in this environment is difficult and dangerous.

Working with a camera in this environment is difficult. Photo: Giulio Brusoni.

Foreground, Subject, Background

This photograph’s composition is divided up excellently: it’s got a foreground, a subject, and a background. Everything fits together superbly, leading to a really well-balanced picture. Also, thanks to the composition, it’s very easy to imagine how high up the climbers are, what their environment is like, and how hard it is to climb up there.

The foreground gives this photo depth, and the background rounds it out.

Better Photos Through Editing

This picture’s technical quality is nothing special, although that doesn’t harm its atmosphere. The picture is focused correctly and has good exposure. The only criticism I’d have—and it’s one that can be fixed in software—is that the foreground and the climber are slightly overexposed, and that the cliff face forming the background is a bit too dark. A minor edit to these aspects would make the photo more understandable and even clearer.

Brighten the red part; mildly darken the blue part. While this will leave the photo with less contrast than before, it will contain much more detail, and the climber’s expression will be much easier to distinguish.

This Picture Draws Interest

Even though this picture is imperfect in terms of its technical aspects, its composition and contents are definitely interesting. And it also inspires admiration for human accomplishments.

To close out the article, here’s a link to the Facebook page of one fantastic photographer whose specialty is mountain climbing. Providing unconventional pictures is the foundation of his success.

Last updated 27. May 2016