from the surfing author Allan Weisbecker's site
www.aweisbecker.com
The subtle surreality of this image is based mostly on lens selection -- the fisheye. The severe spatial distortion of the super wide angle perspective makes it looks like the Roman candle fire is reaching the horizon (an impossibility) when in actuality it's coming down no more than 100 feet from shore. Although the effect is not obvious at first glance, it's unnaturalness is a bit disorienting, resulting in an edgy vibe that's hard to define. In order not give away the use of the fisheye, I cut the horizon in the middle of the frame. Had I not done this, the severe curvature of the horizon (a major drawback to the use of the fisheye) would have cued the viewer that some lens hanky-panky was used.
The other key to this shot was the brightness of the dusk sky. Complete darkness would not have worked, nor would more daylight. I love this kind of light. When other photographers are packing up, having burned themselves out shooting the sunset (a cliché, anyway), I'm just getting ready for some real, or surreal, photographic fun.
