So long and thank you for the fish

Well, this is not exactly the Restaurant at the End of the Universe — but you get the idea. The scene is a working dock, somewhere between the last haul of the day and the quiet moment before the boat heads out again. A fisherman, clad in yellow waterproofs, stands mid-task, surrounded by crates of glistening nets and freshly caught fish. The deck of the boat, the worn concrete, the splashes of green and red from the gear — it’s a palette that speaks of utility rather than design.

The composition benefits from the elevated vantage point. Shooting from above flattens the scene into a graphic arrangement of lines, textures, and blocks of colour: the diagonal of the quay, the rectangle of the boat, the yellow-and-black hazard barriers cutting across the frame. The gull, perched with quiet entitlement, becomes the uninvited guest of honour — a small but telling punctuation mark in the image.

Technically, the exposure leans towards the bright, lifting detail from the shadows in the fisherman’s coat and the nets. The light is diffuse, likely overcast, which keeps contrast manageable and colours true to life. There’s a slight grain and muted tonality that suggest either high ISO or a deliberate choice in post-processing to evoke a grittier, documentary feel. The perspective lines are well managed — no leaning verticals to distract — and the scene holds enough depth to lead the eye from foreground to the far edge of the boat.

It’s a photograph that doesn’t romanticise the dockside; instead, it shows it as it is — wet, worn, and entirely about the work. And the gull, of course, waiting for its share.