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Ethan Chang
@selmshots
Best of the week 37 at #nomadict 2021
Before I picked up a camera, I spent a substantial part of my free time creating all types of art. My parents would sign me up for classes such as art, music, and painting, trying to dabble me in all sorts of different mediums. I eventually would pick up interest in music production, drawing inspiration from famous electronic artists. However, this became short-lived when I asked an upperclassman to shoot a couple of photos for my artist profile. I instantly fell in love; the way the camera clicks, the shutter’s vibrations, and learning about how to utilize this machine to take incredible photos enthralled me. Following the shoot, I would spend hours on Youtube soaking up information to learn as much as I could about photography, hoping to master the craft one day. After graduating 8th grade, my parents bought me my first camera as a graduation gift to capture a family trip out to the Tetons.
"I have been shooting non-stop ever since."
I originally have never thought to dip my toes into the commercial industry. Just a little over a year ago, when I had turned 16-years-old, a friend recommended me to a newly founded startup: Alloi, and asked if I was interested in shooting a few phone case product photos for them. Of course, I said yes!; as I was super keen to try out something new. Saying yes to this freshly sparked relationship opened multiple doors to a whole new outlook on photography, as I have found a way by not only doing what I love but earning a little bit of income from taking photos. Once I realized the potential of the professional world of photography, I started spending more and more of my free time diving into lifestyle and commercial photography by taking photos of small moments between adventures and shoots.
"Through a cluster of trial and error, this eventually led to a few different brands reaching out for an opportunity to create sponsored work together."
The day that truly impacted my life was the summer of 2020. After finishing a whole semester in quarantine, my buddy and I decided to head up north to explore nature for the first time. So we packed our bags and set off to Mount Shasta. A few days later, we found ourselves trekking with close to 23 kilos of gear up a neighboring mountain, overlooking the prominent Mount Shasta. Running the whole afternoon/evening without any food and 17 oz of water, we barely trekked up the hill as we were fatigued from the heat and weight of our bags. Eventually, we reached the summit just in time to relax for a few hours before sunset. When sunset rolled around, my buddy and I watched its snow-capped peaks conjoined with the sun’s rays, creating a landscape almost similar to a Bob Ross painting. I looked on as my buddy stood on the cliff’s edge, staring out into the abyss ahead of him.
"One of the reasons I went on this trip was to figure out my limits; instead, I found my passion for travel and adventure photography."
The story behind the winning shot began on a Friday night, a couple of hours before the shoot. A buddy of mine was road-tripping the coast of California and decided to reach out to shoot for sunrise. We originally planned to shoot in the city (San Francisco); however, a last-minute decision led us to the Cypress tree tunnel, which neither of us had been to in a while. When we arrived at the location, we were discouraged by the sight of overcast, but regardless, we proceeded through with it anyway hoping for a miracle. The morning was filled with the depression of overcast, but our prayers were finally answered when a sea of fog began to roll in. In between those moments of mystical haze, the sun broke free from the mood, radiating a golden hue against the eucalyptus tree tunnel. Seeing the split-second opportunity, my friend Cody sprinted down the tunnel just in time for the fog to perfectly roll into the backdrop of the tunnel.
I was surprised by how the conditions turned out — it seemed like the whole day was filled with overcast until a mixture of golden light and fog made the experience totally worth it. I’m definitely not a person who loves shooting overcast, but the anticipation and excitement I had from the sudden change in conditions gave me the motivation to execute the shot. To capture this once-in-a-lifetime condition of the tunnel during its earliest hour was truly amazing.
When editing this photo, my main goal is to go for a natural look, only enhancing the colors simultaneously. Fortunately enough for me, the RAW file from my camera made the process incredibly easy, as I didn’t need much editing to bring out the warmth and coolness of the tunnel. However, the silhouette was a bit unnoticeable in the original RAW, so I used the brush tool to darken and create a sense of scale within the image.
"Editing is a fantastic tool to make a photo come alive, but it's how you edit it to make it truly yours."
I learned never to underestimate lousy weather. Regarding outdoor photography, the weather may be challenging to predict and sometimes never goes the way you planned. However, on one of the days, out of the blue, it’s that one-in-a-lifetime change in the conditions that genuinely makes all of it worth it.
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