The Story Behind My Best Photo

How an unexpected moment in Croatia led to my most acclaimed shot, with Inspiration from a master of abstract photography

Yesterday, I had a session with my mentor where we were discussing my new photos. When I showed him this one, I thought it was good, but I was surprised when he told me that it’s the best one I have ever brought to him since the beginning of our collaboration, two years ago. Here’s how it came about…

Last weekend, I was in Opatija, a town in Croatia, and I had with me the book Abstract by Ernst Haas, a celebrated street and abstract photographer. It’s my habit to spend at least 15 minutes looking at the works of world-renowned photographers before a photo session, and I did the same this time. This way, I prepared myself to "hunt" for abstract photos.

Walking along the coast and photographing abstract subjects, I came across this shot. What looks like someone’s head, or perhaps a map, is actually a worn and painted floor.

Without noticing the skull shape right away, I took a wider shot, and only when I reviewed the photos did I see the shape of the skull. I then cropped the photo significantly to make it appear as if I had photographed a portrait of that skull.

I took this photo using a Fujifilm X-E4 with a 28mm f/2.8 lens.