Taking advantage of the nice weather today, I put on this dark-colored, white-trimmed JK uniform and ran over to the small river next to Takatsu Station for some river trekking and water play. Usually, when taking photos in the city, it's not easy to find a space that feels natural and allows you to get close to the water. The environment here is very comfortable; there are stone steps on both sides of the river channel, the current is not deep and crystal clear, and you can actually see large carp swimming inside. The afternoon sunlight spills through the leaves, with willow branches swaying in the wind, creating a very leisurely after-school atmosphere.
For this shoot, I brought the Nikon Z5 II, and the lens lineup was switched to Viltrox lenses: the 35mm F1.8 EVO, 55mm F1.8 EVO, and 85mm F2 EVO. Because I wanted to capture the sparkling feel of the river surface, I deliberately chose a back-lit angle. The advantage of a wide aperture works great here; the reflections on the water surface were blurred into rings of white circular light spots, and the dense leaves in the background also appeared very translucent, giving the overall frame a strong summer coolness.
For dynamic subjects like water play, controlling the shutter speed is crucial. For actions like kicking splashes or stepping barefoot in the water, the shutter speed must be kept at least above 1/500s to perfectly freeze the moment of water droplets splashing. The 35mm lens is very suitable for environmental portraits, well capturing the depth of the river channel and surrounding street views; as an all-around focal length, the 55mm is very natural for half-body close-ups with well-controlled perspective distortion; the 85mm is mainly used for facial close-ups, with its compression and bokeh transition being very soft, which, combined with the reflections on the water, makes the character's facial texture look very three-dimensional.
Although wearing the uniform, to enjoy playing in the water to the fullest, I took off my blazer early on and tied it around my waist, neatly placed my shoes on the bank, and stepped barefoot into the water. The river water was cool, instantly washing away the sultry heat of the day. At first, I was still wearing black stockings and carefully avoiding getting them wet, but later I just let go and walked directly in the water, watching the splashes fly—that feeling was extremely stress-relieving. By the end, the stockings were completely soaked, and I had to walk back to the station barefoot carrying my shoes, looking a bit messy yet very happy.
For post-processing color grading, I slightly darkened the background shadows and brightened the water highlights to make the texture of the splashes stand out more. The overall color tone shifted a bit towards cyan-green, strengthening the fresh summer visual. Carrying three lenses up and down the river beach was indeed a bit physically demanding, but seeing the natural light and shadow and relaxed state in the final photos, I felt this river trekking was totally worth it. This sense of daily life close to reality is more vibrant than delicate studio shoots. I look forward to finding another water corner to explore next time.