jenscarr

Sunset at Smithfield

2012-01-28-DSC08732.
This photo taken from my eldest son's in-laws property near Crookwell NSW. My grandson Jack and nieces Keira & Madison add a...
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2012-01-28-DSC08732.
This photo taken from my eldest son's in-laws property near Crookwell NSW. My grandson Jack and nieces Keira & Madison add a great touch to this sunset shot. Up here on the hill the grass was mown as a runway for the families model airplanes.
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May, 2014

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Beautiful capture

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

SHB during the "Vivid" festival in June 2013

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo taken at a property called 'Smithfield' near Crookwell NSW . My grandson Jack and nieces Keira & Madison add a great touch to this sunset shot. Up here on the hill the grass was mown as a runway for the model airplanes, a favourite pastime for my eldest son and my daughter-in-laws brother.

Time

This is one of the first sunset photos I'd taken down at the farm back in 2012. It's such a beautiful area in country New South Wales. Up here on the hill of the property the sunsets have yet to fail me. This night was even more spectacular with the clouds adding a special radiance. Since that time I've used this beautiful property for many of my landscape images.

Lighting

I drove up to the hill on the property about an hour before sunset. I started capturing other images of standing and fallen trees while scouting the best location for the sunset shot. In the meantime other members of my family also drove to the location, and the kids were running and walking around enjoying the atmosphere. My grandson and nieces walked over to see what I was doing, and it just seemed so natural to ask them to ask them to pose for the shot as the sun began to set. As the sun was still a little high above the horizon, I decided to shoot the image with the sun hiding behind the tree trunk. This provided me with a lovely shadow effect, while the suns rays were still strong enough to light up much of the surrounding area.

Equipment

I prefer to always use a tripod when capturing landscape images. At this time I was using my first Sony Camera, an A350. My settings were f/13 as I wanted to get some real depth of field, exposure time of 1/25 to capture what light I could (I asked the kids to stand very still!), with a wide 18mm to really capture as much of the view as I possibly could. ISO 100. I did not use any flash.

Inspiration

The property is located in one of the most beautiful areas in country New South Wales. It's a harsh dry land at times, that can see flooding rains turn the paddocks to mush. It gets extremely hot in the summer, 40 degrees and plus, (and don't forget the flies) while the winters are cold and windy, in recent years they've also had snow. How could you not want to capture this beauty any chance you can get?

Editing

Although Lightroom is now the program I use for post processing, at the time of this shot I was using Photoshop Elements Version 8. I adjusted levels, contrast and added a slight vignette.

In my camera bag

I am now shooting with a Sony A33, which is a great compact camera. I use a Tamron 17-50mm everyday lens. I have a Sony DT1.8 50mm lens for portraits, I use a DT2.8 30mm Macro when shooting flowers, insects and other images where I want to capture real detail. I have a Sony wide angle 4.5-5.6 11-18mm lens and a Sony DT4.5-5.6 55-300 telephoto for my long shots. I have a tripod, gorilla pod and a mono-pod each handy and unique for their own situations. I have a wireless timer remote, great for night (and family get-together shots). I use a Sigma (TTL) flash and also have a Yongnuo Speedlite as off camera support with a wireless trigger. I have a 5-in-one 56cm reflector for those times I want to add sunlight/diffuse sunlight outdoors. I have various ND filters of different ratings to suit the occasion, though in truth don't use these as much these days as Lightroom provides me with many possibilities now. I always carry a spare (fully-charged) battery, but I usually have about 3 in my bag.

Feedback

My suggestion for capturing something similar is to capture what you love or something that has real meaning for you. For me, I only visit this property once or twice a year, so each visit is special to me. I look forward to each visit, to see what images I can shoot that are different from before. Sometimes it might be the same tree but from a different angle or different time of day, each capture is the same but different. I know the property reasonably well, but that doesn't mean it doesn't change or excite me every time I visit. Sometimes things just come together, just happen, be ready, be prepared. I love to shoot landscapes where ever I go, but there's nothing wrong or insane about capturing images from your favourite places more than once.

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jenscarr

jenscarr

Sunset at Smithfield

2012-01-28-DSC08732. This photo taken from my eldest son's in-laws property near Crookwell NSW. My grandson Jack and nieces Keira & Madison add a... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow jenscarr

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2012-01-28-DSC08732.
This photo taken from my eldest son's in-laws property near Crookwell NSW. My grandson Jack and nieces Keira & Madison add a...
Read more

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Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.