Pinterest Inspired
Before almost any trip I go on, I always search Pinterest for unique pictures taken in whatever destination I'm traveling to. I pin an array of different images to my "Places I Need to Go" board for a little inspiration once I get there. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with traveling and sightseeing that if I didn't do this I would be so sidetracked by all the touristy pictures, and I wouldn't get the shots I actually wanted to take.
Normally I don't mimic the image so that it looks exactly like the original, but this time was a little different. I found the pin that inspired me to seek out this ideal London location from a blog called, Polkadot Passport Travel Blog. (You can view the article and original picture by clicking here, or by copying and pasting http://www.polkadotpassport.com/top-10-must-dos-in-london). I fell in love with the iconic picture of a London telephone booth with Big Ben just visible in the background. The first, more colorful picture, closely resembles that of the one I found on Pinterest with slight differences in the angles and the amount of stickers and destruction on the Telephone booth (which in my opinion gives it character) since my image was taken nearly 2 years later than the one posted on the travel blog. I loved the vibrancy and colors in the original image as well so I decide to go with that style when I was first editing.
As popular and accessible as Pinterest is, I wasn't the only one on the lookout to take the perfect picture at this perfect London location. I ran into a couple who had found the same pin, and with only 2 days to explore London opposed to the 4 I had, also made a point to view Big Ben and capture their own travel memory of London summed up in one photograph. And not long after I began clicking away to get the right angle under the right settings, did other people see the beauty in this spot and formed a line. They were all willing to wait their turn for a picture taken of them receiving an important call in front of Big Ben or to simply pose and smile with their travel buddies where the heart of London could photobomb their Instagram-worthy picture.
I edited the same image in two different ways. One obviously in full color (first image) and the other with a red color splash of the telephone booth (second image). This photograph was taken with a 100 ISO, f/2.5, and a 1/1,000 shutter speed. Captured on a Nikon D3100 with a Nikon 35 mm f/1.8 lens. Post processing edits include increased brightness and contrast, increased saturation, an addition of a blur filter, as well as slight blue, green, and purple filters to add color and make the sky less gloomy. After finalizing details on the first colorful image, a black gradient was added, more contrast, and a black vignette to achieve the results of the second picture.
I'm more of a color-loving girl, but I did like the effect the simple red color splash had on the black and white background. I couldn't decide which I liked best, so I posted both. Which one is your favorite? Please comment your thoughts and opinions below.
