This photo „The Dark Side of the Moon“ is the key image from a self-portrait series I created on a summer night in 2022. Hidden inside a small forest lake, me and my three assistands waited for the last trace of dusk: dark enough for the scene to glow, but still alive with depth.
For me the concept was inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon: calm and intensity at once, courage and quiet in the same frame. I organized the shoot in a single day and secured approval from the local fire department to use the smoke bomb effects safely.
The look was created in-camera. A strong warm backlight defined my silhouette, while a subtle blue front light added contrast and a retro-futuristic mood. To create the “starfield” around me, I lifted and splashed the water, then held the pose as the droplets fell back through the light. We had only two short windows to shoot, two rounds of roughly 45 seconds of smoke bombs, so every attempt was very focused in posing, movement and creating variation with the water.
Behind me, just out of frame, one of my assistants stood knee deep in the water holding the backlight by hand. There was no stand to rely on, only careful positioning, steady arms and constant micro adjustments to keep the beam exactly where I wanted it to be. That human presence in the setup mattered: the light had to move with the scene while another assistant handled the smoke bomb at the right moment. It was a small choreography in the dark: quiet, precise, and surprisingly intense.
Color and contrast were refined in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but the atmosphere you see, the glowing haze, the falling water, the cinematic separation, was already captured in camera. I’m proud of this serie not only for the result, but for what it proves: with a clear idea, precise light, and a good team, you can create something powerful in almost no time. And sometimes luck really does show up to collaborate.
Lighting (overview): warm backlight behind the subject (NANLITE Pavotube 15C), cool blue front fill (Yongnuo LED), smoke bomb effect, night lake location.
I am Sabine / sabinefey, a self-portrait photo artist and graphic designer based in Germany. Since 2008 I’ve been exploring experimental self-portrait photography using light, projection, fog, movement, and surface interventions like oil-on-glass to translate inner states into visual form.
Equipment: Nikon D850/D750 · Sigma 35mm & 50mm f/1.4 Art
Discover new self portrait photography projects, behind-the-scenes insights, and visual experiments. Selected works are available as limited edition fine art prints. For collaborations, exhibitions, interviews, or creative exchange, feel free to get in touch: hello@phoenixstudios.de
