Moody waters in Venice

Julio Lopez from Santa Monica made this tranquil and mesmerizing photograph of the Venice Canals that feels like a slow-motion dream sequence.

Venice is a destination for an array of tourists and locals, who take all sorts of photographs. There, Lopez set out to create a scene that wasn’t your typical view. He succeeded with a unique approach.

Lopez is a senior at Cal State Long Beach, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and is a self-taught photographer, learning by trial and error, YouTube tutorials and reading articles online.

His first foray into photography was in 2010 with his phone, and he then evolved to using a point-and-shoot camera.

“I would take my point-and shoot-camera on my bike rides to be able to document the places I visited and look back on those moments in the future,” he said.

“I then became obsessed with wanting to create better images, which sparked a creative urge and forced me to buy my first DSLR back in 2011 in order to have more control with the shutter speed, ISO and aperture. At first, I didn’t have any clue how to use my DSLR, but through trial and error, I began learning what each button controlled and how it affected the images.”

About a year ago, Lopez upgraded again to a Nikon D7000.

He made this gem by setting up his camera with a wide-angle lens on a tripod and toiling to achieve the results he desired. He took a test shot, but wasn’t thrilled with it.

He added a neutral density filter to darken the view. He shot a few more tests and found that a 30-second exposure gave the result he wanted.

The outcome of the photograph is surreal. There is a smoothness to the frame that glides your eyes through the experience. The placid water and sky is eerily beautiful, and the balance of the composition draws you quietly in. It’s a photograph that makes you stop and slow down, one you don’t expect from Venice.

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