bminor

Snow covered pier

A cottage shot with footprints leading off the pier. It's framed as an homage to the expression "take a long walk on a short pier" :)...
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A cottage shot with footprints leading off the pier. It's framed as an homage to the expression "take a long walk on a short pier" :)
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Canon EOS 6D

settings

Aperture f/16.0 ISO 100 Shutter 1/15 Focal Length 16/1

upload_date

Apr, 2015

Views

3570

Likes

+998

Awards

Summer 2020

Contest Finalist in Winter Wonderland Photo Contest

Featured

Peer Award

+241

Superb Composition

+139

Absolute Masterpiece

+71

Top Choice

+69

Outstanding Creativity

+40

Love it

+22

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

All Star

Genius

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PRO+

cool shot

Great shot

Love this!

Absolutely breathtaking!! Amazing capture

Amazing capture!

Platinum

Beautifully composed and edited. Congratulations on your feature. :)

PRO+

amazing

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at my brother's cottage. I visit once or twice a year and I'm rarely disappointed by the amazing sunrises.

Time

I'm an early riser--or is it a restless sleeper. Either way I'm often up in the middle of the night or at the very least early in the morning. I think here I woke up around four thirty in the morning. From the view of the balcony overlooking the like I could tell this was going to be a great morning to shoot. The nights were very cool and cooler nights meant morning mist. I just love shooting mist.

Lighting

When shooting landscapes you're at the mercy of mother nature. She alone can produce the most amazing sunrises. In this case I think she did an admirable job. It was late fall and the sun was peeking almost straight ahead of the pier. The reflections bouncing off the lake were quite amazing. I wish I could have done the scene more justice.

Equipment

I shoot all my landscaped with my canon 6D and with my favourite 16 to 35mm f4. This lens never ever disappoints.

Inspiration

I always have my gear with me when I'm at the cottage. The photos I'm most pleased with were taken there. I knew I had great lighting conditions so it was a no brainer to skip morning coffee and get out there shooting. There was snow on the ground the day before and I remember asking my brother if he would make fresh tracks leading off the pier and jump off into the water to come back. I wanted to take the photo with the footprints only going one way. Although the water was icy cold there was a sauna nearby and it wouldn't be the first time we took a jump in after sweating in the sauna. Alas, he didn't want to go for it--of course neither did I. The next best thing was walking to the edge of the pier and retracing my steps. I was really trying to conceptualise the photo after the phrase "taking a long walk off a short pier".

Editing

My workflow with landscapes really depend on the scene itself but in this case I started with cropping a bit to get the edge of the pier right at the bottom left of the photo. I intensified the sky with contrast and a bit of clarity and bumped up the saturation. I did the same for the bottom half of the photo but I bumped up the levels a bit more to intensify the reflection in the water.

In my camera bag

I shoot whatever interests me. It could be an amazing sunrise or sunset or a smaller scene I come across in the bush--a creek, a river--or it could be any of hundreds of varieties of wildlife I come across. To be ready for whatever comes your way you can't pack lightly so I include a lot in my bag. Without going into the little gadgets and extra batteries and memory cards, I tend to carry two cameras. I have my 7D Mark II and my 6D. I also carry a 16-35 f4, a 400mm f4 prime and a 100mm macro. I carry a flash for the macro and a small folding softbox as well. You really never know what you might come across.

Feedback

Go to a cottage--any cottage. Bring a tent and camp out overnight at a spot near a lake where city lights won't pollute your shot. You're more likely to be up and rested early enough in the morning to get shots like this. Trust me it's much easier than getting up at three am and driving out to a site and hoping for a killer sunrise. If you're camped out somewhere and mother nature doesn't cooperate then you can always just turn over in your sleeping bag and go right back to sleep. If you wake up and see the conditions are right you'll be more than motivated to get up out from under your warm blankets and make the shot.

See more amazing photos, follow bminor

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bminor

Snow covered pier

A cottage shot with footprints leading off the pier. It's framed as an homage to the expression "take a long walk on a short pier" :)... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow bminor

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A cottage shot with footprints leading off the pier. It's framed as an homage to the expression "take a long walk on a short pier" :)...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.