Sergio Felipe García tells us how he captured this brilliant shot for a commissioned clothing brand in this 'How I Got This Picture interview'.

Image Title

Cenizas de un verano” (“Ashes of a Summer” in english)

Sergio Felipe García. Black and white portrait of a woman lay down on a surfboard in the sea.

TECHNICAL INFO

FILM USED

ILFORD HP5+

FORMAT

35mm

CAMERA

Hanimex Amphibian

LENS

35mm f2.8

EXPOSURE TIME

1/125s at f11

LOCATION

El Médano, Tenerife

FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SHOOT IT?

The photo series “Ashes of a Summer” emerged from a photographic commission by a good friend of mine for his clothing brand: Casa Borcaro. For it, I was inspired by the sensations that surfing and summer convey. The main idea was to do an underwater shooting with a surfboard in black and white. In my personal opinion, underwater photographs are more striking in black and white, as it gives them a much more mysterious and abstract touch, although not the entire photo series is underwater.

DID YOU COME ACROSS ANY CHALLENGES?

Yes, indeed. Since it was a shoot for a clothing brand, the pants the model was wearing couldn’t touch the surfboard’s wax because they were made of linen and could get damaged. To avoid this issue, we turned the board upside down so that the model could position herself on top without damaging the garment. In the photo, you can see how the tip of the board is turned down into the water. Besides this curiosity, underwater photography is always a bit more tedious, as it’s not just about adjusting the camera settings, exposing, framing, and shooting; other factors come into play, such as holding your breath.

WHAT PROCESS DID YOU USE?

I used a Hanimex Amphibian, closing the aperture to f11 to achieve enough depth of field to capture the landscape. Besides this, I didn't use any other photographic equipment, except for a wetsuit, diving goggles, and fins.

HOW DID YOU PROCESS IT?

I send all the rolls I shoot to my trusted lab, @dubblelab in Barcelona. I particularly like them because of their fast turnaround and the incredible black-and-white results produced by the Noritsu scanner they have in their lab.

WHAT ABOUT PRINTING?

We will probably release a small zine of the project along with the clothing brand. I would also love to start experimenting with hand printing.

 

Image ©Sergio Felipe García