There’s something wonderfully calming about being up and about as the sun rises over the horizon first thing in the morning, especially after the shock of the 4am alarm call! Sunrise is when nature wakes up and the sounds of the birds let you know that day is beginning and there is work to be done.
I shot this photo at sunrise in a coastal RSPB nature reserve and the birdsong was the only noise I could hear – even the tide had gone out and was approaching low tide so the sea was out of earshot. It was taken just as the sun rose over the horizon and you can see the sky warming with the orange glow of the sun.
So what makes this photo a stopper (a photo that makes people stop and engage with your content)? To start with you have the channel of water that meanders gently towards the sun lit horizon, leading the eye deeper into the scene. There’s a lovely contrast between the warm orange of the sunrise as it lights the sky, and catches the reeds in the distance and the foreground rocks, and the cool blue of the night sky which is still reflected in the water and the mudflats that surround the channel of water left behind by the outgoing tide.
There’s another, less obvious contrast too. In the foreground there is a small rusting metal post that is just being caught by the sun. The manmade item seems very out of place here but has clearly been there a while as the sea water has caused the corrosion over time. The purpose of the post is unknown to me but it seems to have been deliberately put there as it seems very upright, which is extremely unlikely for something discarded. What’s it’s purpose? Who put it there? How long has it been there? A good photo will often leave you with questions and a desire to know more.
So when would you be able to use this photo on social media? It would work well on LinkedIn, but may not fair quite so well on Twitter, Facebook and certainly Instagram. Why? Well LinkedIn has a lot more business related posts so you are much less likely to see a landscape photograph on there and so it is more likely to make you stop scrolling, whereas on the other social channels there are a lot more sunrises and sunsets (of varying quality, mind you) that it wouldn’t jump out quite as much, although it would still fair better than many others. That’s one of the reasons why it is important to consider the channel, the context and your audience when sharing your content.
So what do you think about this image? How does this scene make you feel? Get in touch and let me know.
:DK
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