Alyssa's Bird
Sep, 2014Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Capture Leading Lines Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Come To Me Photo Contest
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Studio SoftBox and LED Lights
Contest Finalist in Magical Portraits Photo Contest
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Jassey
July 13, 2015
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
terrysigns13
December 22, 2015
Congratulations! This is such an amazing shot! Creative and impressive! Great Work!
GuillermoCortezCanada
April 09, 2016
Excellent Picture rich in details and beautiful tones.....super composition!!!
PRO+
weekephoto
July 30, 2017
The shutterspeed 1/60 and the image is stil crisp? Did you use a flash or how is that possible?
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
When I moved to Soquel a couple of years ago, I drove around looking for interesting places to shoot. I was fascinated by the eucalyptus-lined railroad tracks and thought it would make a great location to photograph a model. I love how the trees create a tunnel which draw your attention toward the center. I'd always thought that eucalyptus trees were photogenic.Time
This was shot late in the afternoon. We were going to shoot more towards twilight, but when we drove up, the light was so beautiful we HAD to shoot immediately.Lighting
The sun was beginning to set and the warm light filtered through the trees. There was a soft, directional light which lit up Allysa's face. When she moved into a certain area of the scene, the warm sunlight which filtered through the trees gave her a beautiful rim light which separated her from the darker background.Equipment
I used a Nikon D800 with a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 lens, on a Hakuba carbon fiber tripod with a Manfrotto ball head. Lighting was completely natural.Inspiration
My housemate, Michelle, is an avid photographer as well. She wanted to photograph Alyssa and I suggested the train track for a background. Michelle came up with the wardrobe and supplied the lantern. We had Alyssa walk up and down the track, trying different poses. Then she decided to walk on the rail itself. In doing so, she had to balance herself and her left hand came up to help her balance. As I looked through my images that night, I was intrigued by this image. At the time, there was no bird, just her arm raised for balance. The placement of her raised arm was right at the point where the light was at the end of the tunnel, which I knew would be a focal point of the image. I wanted to introduce an element of interest that would coincide with her raised arm and the brightly lit end of the tunnel. The black bird about to land on her arm was the element of choice.Editing
I haven't explored Lightroom yet, so all of my post is done in Photoshop CS6. The light on her face was cool in color because of the blue sky, so I warmed up the scene a little. I also use Nik Color Efex Pro 4 for most of my images. This particular image needed very little post production. It was nearly perfect right outta the can!In my camera bag
I have two D800 bodies that I usually take with me on most shoots. I leave one on the tripod to catch the scene with the changing light throughout the shoot, and the second body I shoot grab shots. My "go to" lens is a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8. I usually carry a Nikon 14-24 and a Nikon 70-200. I carry a set of extension tubes and macro rail just in case I see a macro shot. I will usually have a Nikon SB800 with me.Feedback
Although this shoot was fairly impromptu, I usually recommend having a concept in mind and then work toward that one concept. Some photographers tend to try to shoot as many different concepts as they can in a single shoot. I guess they're banking on the law of averages... the more ways you shoot, the more likely that one of 'em will turn out good. I've always thought that it is far better to have one great image, than 100 mediocre images. Paying attention to details is very important. The wardrobe and lantern added a timeless vintage feel to the image.
