Sticking around for the fish to come by Robert Moltmaker

About "Sticking around for the fish to come"

by Robert Moltmaker

About the artwork

A stilt fisherman early in the morning at the beach of Weligama, Sri Lanka. Stilt fishing, or stick fishing as the locals also call it, is a traditional way of fishing that was introduced rather recently, during the Second World War. Thus, although it may look like an ancient tradition, it is actually a practise invented in order to adapt to changing circumstances of food shortage and overcrowded fishing spots in that time.
At this particular morning, the ocean was rather rough. The other fishermen at the shoreline told me that the waves were high and the fishing conditions far from perfect. Because of this, not every man directly climbed its pole. Many were investigating whether it was worth to start fishing.

In short: this was a unique moment with not the traditional image of all pole fishermen in a row in a blue ocean. Here I wanted to capture the rough movements of the sea but at the same time also the serenity that such a landscape carries with it and enforces on its surroundings. A shutter speed of three seconds seemed the perfect balance for this.

I summarize landscape photography with human elements in the theme "human element". It is about the relationship between people and their natural environment. Not people and not the natural environment are the focus of the images: it is their combination. I see it as "motion landscape stories" with scale perspective and a sense of anonymity.