My first attempt at a "Save our planet" project

Good day.

I've had a vision of a photo that I've been wanting to take for quite some time. The photo would be of a person with a gas mask holding out a single plant.

The feeling that I had in mind was that we are slowly killing our planet, our only life source, and that we'll soon have nothing left. This sounds like a scene out of a movie, but it is becoming a reality.

What I had in mind was that the photo would leave the viewer thinking about what we can do to prevent a future where every breath draws us closer to a world without oxygen. I wanted to give an idea of how precious our natural resources are and how important it is for us to try and save it before our time is up.

I managed to find the props needed and with help from my girlfriend @yogidream.scapes I could finally bring my vision to life.

• Shutter speed 1/4000s
• ISO 3200
• f1.8

To capture the image I made use of my Canon EOS 1300d mounted on a tripod. My girlfriend help me to get the focus right where I wanted it. I was aiming for a very shallow depth of field to make the plant stand out. To achieve this I made use of the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 prime lens. This lens is perfect for portraiture where a shallow depth of field is needed.

A behind the scenes shot by @yogidream.scapes to capture the process.

My Canon EF 50mm prime lens. I've found that this lens performs well in portraiture and also ads to a beautiful bokeh effect when needed. It might not be the best, but at an affordable price this is an all round good lens.

I like to sometimes play around with editing the image to give it a different feel. In the next image I tried to do the whole photo in black and white except for the plant to try and emphasize it.

It was an overcast day which helped to give the image a darker, more serious vibe. For the background I wanted to capture a building with a bit of age to it in order to add to the situation.I made use of an old storage shed.If I had to redo the image I would definitely try to go for a more industrial style background. The plant used in the image was found in a nearby field, after taking the photo it was returned to the field and replanted.

In our modern day lives we destroy that which is keeping us alive. Instead of searching for a way to replace what we have lost we should rather start by fixing what we've already got. I hope that this image can encourage some form of change so that we can work towards a better future.

Thanks for your time and support.
Joshua Baxter 😊.