PASSENGER

The human journey

This week, despite frequent rain, I made it down to the ferry wharf to photograph people on their journeys—capturing them for a split second as they stepped through a fleeting shaft of light on their way out.

For this kind of shooting, I use a shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second. In the bright daylight just before midday, I expose for the highlights, causing the background to fall into complete darkness. This transforms the scene: the deep black void becomes a metaphor for the vast unknown, the challenges each of us must navigate, and the moments of philosophical reflection we encounter along the way.

This work is part of my ongoing series Passenger.
These images capture commuters as they pass through a fleeting ray of sunlight streaming in through the ferry terminal windows — a brief, luminous moment amid the never ending journey of people arriving and leaving this planet.

Whenever light gathers in one place, it creates a natural stage — an opportunity to tell stories of human perseverance, emotion, and quiet strength. These are all taken with small street cameras. Fuji x100v and Ricoh GR2 and 3x.

This is studio lighting in a public space all set up for you by the universe.

When you see this kind of shaft lighting just try with a fast shutter and f stop closed down to about 13. Iso would be about 1600 but just experiment. It is lots of fun and creates very dramatic images for a moody series.

The BW profiles on the Ricoh cameras are excellent which means you can do everything in camera with little or no post production.

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Enjoy your street photography!

Have a wonderful week - Gavin