Pool of Light

I didn’t fully understand this image until I started editing it.

I was editing in Lightroom, and after I cropped the image to the desired aspect ratio, I went to the Light tab and started adjusting the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, and Shadows sliders. As I did, I started to think deeply.

These settings have a big impact on the image. I looked at the photograph and remembered the moment when I took it, and how happy I felt afterward.

The image is simple: an old gentleman walking through a pool of light.

Yes, I planned the image. I saw the pool of light created by the shadows of two buildings, and I waited for an interesting subject to walk into that space. The contrast between highlights and shadows was strong, almost like a stage waiting for its actor.

My wait was not long. After a few not-so-satisfying shots, the right subject walked into the frame. I waited until he was fully in the pool of light, and I took a few images.

For me, it was a perfect moment: the light, the shadows, the contrast, the subject, his posture, his white hair against his dark clothing. Luckily for me, I captured the image in black-and-white which looks best for this shot.

As I started editing the image, I began to think: what makes this image so special to me?

Definitely the shadows of the buildings that created this pool of light. The dark side of the image shaped its character.

Like in life, the dark moments shape us. We only start to reflect on our lives during these times. When we lose people who are very close to us for various reasons, when we deal with rejections and disappointments, when we struggle. These moments shape us. Yes, they make us sad, and they leave scars, and we may not recover from them, but they are also life lessons.

Over time, the image became less about what I saw, and more about what I had lived.

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Now, when I look at this image, I don’t just remember the moment I took it, that day, or that place or the city. I remember all the difficult times I went through, all the struggles and pain, and I appreciate the exposures and highlights that were created by the shadows and the dark parts.

Photography is deeper than frames and shots; it gives form to the moments that shape us.

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