Interesting Photo of the Day: A Magical, Lonely Park Bench

We regularly talk about the importance of lighting in photography. But that’s because lighting truly is key. A boring subject in great light will always make for a better photo than a great subject in boring light. To support this idea, we have the following image of a park bench shot by photographer Kichhukotha. While an empty park bench does not generally work great as a subject, that is simply not the case in this image:

an empty bench in a park

“Magical Morning at Jesus Common Park, Cambridge” by Kichhukotha (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)

If you’re wondering about the equipment and editing techniques used to take this photo, you might be surprised to know that there’s only a smartphone involved. Kichhukotha shot the image on an iPhone XS Max and edited it with Snapseed. The lighting alone at Jesus Green, in Cambridge, was so brilliant that he didn’t need any fancy gear for this gorgeous snapshot.

“Took this photo last year during lockdown and it did feel like I was capturing that ray of light that the world needed!”

The empty bench is a great representation of the loneliness everyone was facing during the lockdown, and the golden light emphasizes it all the more. Things become even more interesting as you dive further into the background, though. It’s beautiful to see how the warm golden rays are penetrating the cold mist. The fight between the warm and the cold is an amazing sight to see.

You could also say that the mix of mist and the sun’s rays add a dreamy vibe to the image. Overall, the image looks like a scene from a fairytale—it’s so surreal. Doesn’t looking at it just make you inexplicably happy?

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