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Andrew Croucher Photography - Trial Bay Sunset
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Andrew Croucher Photography - Trial Bay Sunset



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 50D

settings Aperture f/16.0 ISO 100 Shutter 1/5 

upload_dateApr, 2014

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4124

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Awards

Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Peaceful Sunsets Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Nature In HDR Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Nature In HDR Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Tropical Sceneries Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 6
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Superb Composition
jessicacollis Jonsoundman joannreff brandymguy noneoftheabove Karl-Heinz gogosviewbug +91
Peer Award
blade392004 mikemiller_2169 Johnsalterego ClaritaBethCanlasMiller davidjprosser diegoscaglione Tudorof +78
Top Choice
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Outstanding Creativity
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Superior Skill
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Magnificent Capture
FrancoisHorne davidbasson thricegrate Albert-Serra-Photography HollyPorta carolynlawson bobbimcdonald +3
All Star
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Top Ranks

Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Swag ProjectTop 10 rank
The Swag ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
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The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
A Low Vantage Point Photo ContestTop 10 rank
A Low Vantage Point Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
A Storm Is Coming Photo ContestTop 20 rank
A Storm Is Coming Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Post Editing Magic Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Post Editing Magic Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Resource Travel Inspiration Photo Contest vol2Top 10 rank
Resource Travel Inspiration Photo Contest vol2Top 10 rank week 1
Peaceful Sunsets Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Peaceful Sunsets Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
Peaceful Sunsets Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Trey Ratcliffs Put Your Best Foot Forward Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Peaceful Sunsets Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Peaceful Sunsets Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Nature In HDR Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Photofocus Feature Photo Contest Volume 2Top 10 rank
Nature In HDR Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Photofocus Feature Photo Contest Volume 2Top 10 rank week 1
ViewBug HQ Photo ContestTop 10 rank
ViewBug HQ Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Coastal Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Coastal Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Coastal Landscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Tropical Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Tropical Sceneries Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank week 1
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank week 2
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 rank
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 6
Serenity Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
Serenity Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
HDRSoft Photo ContestTop 10 rank
HDRSoft Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Golden Hour Photo Contest by TamronTop 30 rank
Golden Hour Photo Contest by TamronTop 30 rank week 2

Categories

7 Comments |
tropicala
 
tropicala January 08, 2015
Superb and congrats for finalist!
Stretton
 
Stretton January 08, 2015
I love seascapes, this is a winner
davidbidmead
 
davidbidmead January 09, 2015
Congratulations ! Beautiful !
ahmedfouadibraheem
 
ahmedfouadibraheem March 04, 2015
Excellent shot.
brendawoodford
 
brendawoodford October 21, 2016
I love this. Living close to the shore I see lots of photos of sunsets and sunrises but I like the detail in the foreground, the low angle, very inviting, want to step into the sea...great composition.
Alwolfe Platinum
 
Alwolfe September 16, 2017
Truly awesome shot!
Flinforth
 
Flinforth April 14, 2018
Absolutely amazing capture

Submitted to Photo Contests
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Behind The Lens

Location

This image was captured at the Trial Bay Gaol Campgrounds, a little bit of a historic site that is nearby the ruins of an old 1886 gaol (jail) in the North Coast of New South Wales in Australia. I was on a 6 day photo-expedition over the Christmas holidays, accompanied by Tim (a fellow photographer and close friend) who also shared this amazing scene. We traveled up the north coast of New South Wales from Sydney to Port Macquarie stopping along beautiful locations. This was the last destination of our expedition before heading back to Sydney.

Time

During our trip we were chasing the sun from sunrise to sunset, morning shoots were followed by breakfast while uploading, filtering and editing the images we had just shot, before we rested in the afternoon for round 2 of the days shoot. As the name suggests, Trial Bay Sunset was taken during sunset, around 6pm. Due to the thick cloud cover, there was only a small gap where the sun would shine through. This equated to about 10 minutes to compose and get the perfect shot. We were racing against the clock and had to be quick, jogging from one spot to the next, I made about 5 different compositions and this was the 3rd one, the one I liked the most.

Lighting

This was a dark scene with the sun light diffused through the thick rain clouds. But once the sun set over the horizon, it lit up the scene with a nice radiating orange glow. I wanted the look and feel of the final image to replicate this scene.

Equipment

My gear at the time I captured this image was a Canon 50D along with my newly purchased Tokina 11-16 F2.8 lens, a carbon-fiber Benro tripod and a hefty Benro ball-head mount that weighs down my overall kit.

Inspiration

I had been an avid landscape shooter from the beginning of my photography journey (now I shoot events and portraits for a living). The goal of this trip was to capture as many beautiful scenes as we could, mainly seascapes with the sun visible. And use different creative techniques along the way. The trill of chasing the sun, being at a beach, breathing the clean air and capturing a beautiful scene gives me a real sense of satisfaction. As this was the final destination of the 6 day photo expedition, I wanted to make this shot something special using everything I learnt during the trip.

Editing

The image was composed of 2 out of 5 exposures. Initial attempts to process them through Photomatix resulted in a decent overall image but it wasn't to my liking. The surreal feel and the ghosting of the waves made me change my mind about keeping that edit as too much work would be required to make it 'better'. So I kept it simple, using the normal exposed shot as my primary image, processed it in Lightroom by adding a gradient filter to darken the clouds, increased the colour vibrance of overall pic then added clarity and sharpening. It was looking great and very realistic, but this exposure had blown-out the sun spot and the sun rays. Next, I exported this file to Photoshop for more editing along with the -3 stop exposure, this darker exposure shot used a faster shutter rate and captured the sun nicely. Once in PS, I aligned the images and carefully masked the sun and the sun rays through to the primary image. Despite the careful masking, the blown-out section was huge compared to the small sun from the darker exposure, so an artificial orange halo had to be added to smooth the transition between the layers. An orange filter and curves layer was then added for the finishing touches and brought back to Lightroom and finally exported to web.

In my camera bag

In my Lowepro backpack I normally have 2 cameras, an original Canon 5D and a Canon 70D, Canon 16-35 F2.8 and Canon 70-200. Lee 3 stops soft-graduated filters (-1,-2 & -3), a Lee Big Stopper, Lee Circular Polariser and 2x Lee filter holders and of course a couple spare batteries. I carry the Benro carbon-fiber tripod on the exterior along with my 1L stainless steel water canister.

Feedback

When shooting in to the sun, try to use live view to compose the shot, if you can't, then don't stare through the viewfinder too long. This seascape sunset scene is a high contrast situation, tough for your camera to capture in 1 shot (unless you have a Nikon or Sony!! You people have it easy!!). Use the bracketing setting to capture more than 1 exposure to increase the dynamic range. You may then use some technology to blend the images in post, either using auto-blending software like Photomatix, Photoshop's inbuilt HDR plugin or manually blend them together using layer masks as I did with this image. When shooting landscapes, especially when you're chasing the sun, planning is essential. You have to know when and where you want to be at the right moment to capture the desired result. Google maps is your friend! Try to find inspiration photo's of others that have been there to see where the best vantage points are and go from there. Thanks for reading my insights to my Trial Bay Sunset image. I hope it inspires and informs you on your photo journey. Andrew Croucher

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