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A Photograph Tells a Story in Newport

 

As a photographer, I am always looking to find a landscape or seascape that tells a story. A person, a place, an action, can all tell a story of a moment in time through a photograph. Sometimes you get all three together and a story, just like the cameras shutter, simply clicks.

Fishing in Newport at Sunset - Mike Dooley
Fishing in Newport at Sunset – Mike Dooley

On a recent trip down to Newport with some photographer friends I came across just such a scene. That scene simply said “Rhode Island” to me. It was sunset and we were walking along the Newport coastline. We came upon a group of fishermen waist deep in Narragansett Bay casting out into the surf. The iconic and easily recognizable Newport Bridge created a nice background, and the soft pastel colors of the evening light in the sky was reflecting nicely off the water.

I took some shots of the group, but quickly decided that I wanted to isolate a single fisherman in the scene. I changed my lens from a wide angle to a small zoom in order to get a tighter shot of the fisherman and to help make the bridge a larger and more important part of the photograph.

My exposure was for the sky and the background scene, knowing that the fisherman would be a simple silhouette. A slower shutter speed of 1/8th of a second allowed for a little bit of motion blur in the rod, as I timed my photograph to capture him casting into the surf.

In this photograph I find that the color of the sky, the Newport Bridge with its twinkling lights, and the silhouette of the fisherman all work together nicely to tell a story about an evening in Newport, Rhode Island. You can purchase a print of this photograph, as well as other prints of my photography in my fine art print gallery.

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Mike Dooley

Mike is a photographer, storyteller, and educator who sees the world through a lens of transformation. His work blends technical mastery with emotional depth—inviting viewers to not just see, but feel. Whether guiding learners through the art of visual storytelling or capturing the quiet poetry of Rhode Island’s landscapes, Mike creates spaces where vulnerability meets clarity. He’s the author of Through My Eyes and the voice behind Behind The Print, a podcast that explores the heart behind the image.

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