Viewfinder: Ocean Springs

This past weekend I decided to take a vacation and visit a friend who lives just outside of Ocean Springs. Our plan was to roam the streets of the little beach town, settle down in a nice restaurant, and take a sunset stroll on the Gulf Coast. The reality was that my long weekend consisted mostly of playing video games in his apartment and eating gummy bears, interrupted only by expeditions for substantial food and an impromptu visit to PetSmart. However, on my last evening in Mississippi I begged my friend to drive me to the beach for a few hours so I could take a couple photos; it turned out to be one of the best parts of my trip (although eating all those gummy bears is pretty high on the list).

I didn’t have a particular vision or goal in mind for a series while I was shooting. It can be really fun to relax and shoot without agenda, but it sometimes leaves you without a well-rounded set of photos. Because I felt my pictures weren’t particularly diverse or cohesive, I decided to focus on different development methods that I don’t use often. The process I experimented the most with in this series, called split-toning, lets me change the colors of highlights and shadows in my images and can help foster a particular mood in an image. I try to manipulate my photos as little as possible, but I want to understand and practice as many techniques as I can.

Overall the whole experience was really fun, and the drive we took through the cute little town on our way back home has convinced me that a more involved Ocean Springs vacation will happen in the near future!

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