Hard work

I took this photograph on a blisteringly hot summer day, the sort of day when the air seems to shimmer and the beach hums with the sounds of leisure — waves, laughter, and the distant hum of radios. But while most people lounged under neat rows of parasols, there was this man, moving with quiet determination, his back to the sea.

The scene was visually irresistible: the repeating pattern of red and orange parasols receding into the distance, the bright blue rescue boat and the vivid plastic sunshades forming an almost painterly composition. The man, central in the frame, breaks the symmetry. His white shirt catches the light, contrasting sharply against his skin, while the black bags and merchandise he carries form heavy shapes that anchor the image. That weight — literal and metaphorical — is the heart of the picture.

From a technical standpoint, this was a challenge in controlling exposure under harsh midday light. The sun was merciless, creating deep shadows and high-contrast highlights. I opted to slightly underexpose to retain detail in the brightest areas, especially the white shirt and sand, then pulled back some shadow detail in post to give depth to his figure without flattening the scene. The long focal length compressed the perspective, making the layers of umbrellas, buildings, and hills feel closer together, almost claustrophobic.

Compositionally, the diagonal oar across the frame subtly leads the eye from foreground to background, while the bold colour blocks — blue, red, orange — divide the image into distinct zones. It’s a picture that feels at once busy and orderly, colourful and heavy.

What stays with me is the contrast: a figure of labour set against a landscape of idleness. The photograph doesn’t lecture; it simply shows. And sometimes, showing is enough.