This is a photo from Cat Ba Island in Vietnam that I thought was kind of cool. Hilary and I were riding a motor bike along the coast of the island after spending the day exploring. Along the way we stopped to take in the view across the water and there were a bunch of boats sitting in the bay below us. I’m guessing they are some sort of fishing boat but I thought the long arms off of them looked unique.

One thing that I’ve found after doing photography for several years is that editing plays a big role in making or breaking a photo. A lot of people often say that you shouldn’t rely on editing and post-processing to make your photos look good. They would say that all of the hard work should be put into making the photos look good straight out of the camera.

I have a slightly different approach, however, and think that the initial step of taking a photo is only the beginning of the creative process. The second half being the editing where you can take the photo in so many different directions.

It’s as if the photo taking is just the gathering of the raw materials and the editing is where you shape and adjust those materials into a final product. Sometimes a photo is perferct straight out of camera and just needs some tweaking, but other times you can take a rather shitty photo and turn it into something completely different through the post-processing.

In this case, the photo lacked colour, and contrast, and it was taken in the middle of the day with harsh sunlight. But with the strong shapes and composition of the boats in the water, but turning it black and white, cranking up the contrast and clarity and over exposing the sky, we were able to get something out of nothing.