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Surreal_EmptyRoad
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Surreal_EmptyRoad



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While out on the hunt for things that caught my eye yesterday I found this place perfect for empty road shots. This shot came about after deciding to see it wit...
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While out on the hunt for things that caught my eye yesterday I found this place perfect for empty road shots. This shot came about after deciding to see it with a different perspective. I didn't rotate this image I actually took it upside down. Color edits done in Lightroom 3. September 2014
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cameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS

settings Aperture f/9.0 ISO 200 Shutter 1/30 

upload_dateSep, 2014

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23

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Tags

#abstract #dirt road #empty road #landscape #nature #surreal
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken on a country road outside of my hometown in Eastern South Dakota. Being drawn to photographing nature and the beauty it holds; living in South Dakota all that is needed to find my inspiration is to pick a road and go where it leads me.

Time

This day I set out in the late afternoon hours with my three kids southeast of town; with the perfect shot for the empty road contest on View Bug in mind. After tuning down one of the many dirt roads I’d been down I saw a hawk and began to fallow it hoping it would stop long enough I could catch up and capture a good shot; it flew out of sight before I could it lead the way to the perfect spot I had gone out looking for. Just in time, as it was about an hour from my chances for good light to begin fading.

Lighting

The sun hadn’t begun to descend into dusk hours yet so the lighting was rather easy to work with just setting my shutter speed and aperture. Only thing need to set the lighting just right was a little help metering the portions of my image that held a bit of shadow from the small hill behind me.

Equipment

With most of my shots unless I need a tripod depending on the distance from me and/or how close I want to have the subject in the frame I will use my Canon EOS Rebel XS with one of my 2 Canon lenses; which are a EFS 18-55mm and EF 75-300mm Zoom lens. For this shot I use my EFS 18-55mm lens.

Inspiration

After doing some normal shots of the dirt road with the tree line at different levels and angles another photo contest View Bug was holding at that time came to mind. This contest was asking photographers to show a magical world. I had the thought of taking a completely different view where it was turned upside down. Rather than just take one of the shots I’d already captured and rotating it I wanted an authentic shot. I laid on my back and after a few shots got the shot just right where the horizon line was just right. It was a bit of a challenge lying on the ground with my head tilted back looking through the camera but it was easier than I expected to rise to the challenge.

Editing

I use my Lightroom 3 more than Photoshop when doing edits. With this shot I did a split tone of a tan color that would best match the dirt road for the highlights and a gray for the shadows. After that I highlighted the edges to be darker leaving the center of the trees and road lighter. Finally finished up with a strong contrast.

In my camera bag

I always have my backpack especially for my camera equipment. Inside are my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS, EFS 18-55mm lens, EF 75-300mm zoom lens, remote switch, and my surplus of SD cards so I always know I can take all the shots I want. Provided I make sure my battery is up to the challenge. There has been a time or two I haven’t kept up with the charge and had to go home before I was ready since I have yet to add an extra battery to my list of equipment. For the times I know I will need a tripod I bring along my Opteka.

Feedback

For a shot similar to this the biggest component is to have fun with the experience. It is something else to flip the world you are used to upside down to get the shot and it can be a challenge at first but so much fun to see how you operate as a photographer in such a way. Pick the scene that is perfect in your eyes, get the lighting and settings on your camera set right, and then work on holding the camera steady to get you horizon just right.

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