When I was a kid, my family lived in the countryside, and there were several villagers in the village building new houses. From time to time, I walked to the construction site to see how the masters worked. As a child, building a house was simply a big game.

On one occasion, the master had to erect a pillar, only to see him put down a heavy hammer line on a shelf, which was an instrument with a lead cone tied to a thick line; and when the weight stopped swinging, a 100% vertical line was obtained. Despite being designed thousands of years ago, this clever method is still being used today.

I am amazed by the wise old ancestors who designed such a simple but effective technique.

This instrument triggered my inspiration and I decided to shoot a surreal composition.

1 – Background: I sprayed blue on a 4’x4′ piece of white paper, and then hung the paper in the window.

2 – Plumb: I tied the plumb to the crossbar and while waiting for the model to get ready, I adjusted the aperture to get the desired depth of field.

3 – White: I asked the model to paint her hands white to add a visual effect of contrast.

4 – Lotus: I had the model sit under the lead hammer and had her raise her hands high and spread her fingers to form a lotus shape.

5 – Balance: The biggest challenge was to keep a symmetrical shape between the model’s hands and the plumb, while avoiding touching the plumb. Even the slightest bump would cause the hammer to swing and I had to wait for it to stabilize so that I could continue shooting. The model then had to start over.

6 – And so the shoot began. This session sounded easier said than done. My model was cooperative, but complained throughout the shoot. She said that holding her hands up high was quite tiring. After many adjustments to the position, her hands and fingers, I finally got the shot.

What is the significance of this composition? Can you comprehend the motivation behind it? Why not leave a comment and let me know what you think?