ianwatts

Bunny Hill Panorama

A series of photographs from a walk around Bunny Hill, literally 3 minutes walk from my door!!

A series of photographs from a walk around Bunny Hill, literally 3 minutes walk from my door!!
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Aperture f/11.0 ISO 400 Shutter 1/30 Focal Length 16/1

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May, 2015

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Behind The Lens

Location

This is literally a 5 minute walk from my house - a place called Rowley Woods, or rather affectionately known as Bunny Hill. It's one of my favourite places to shoot, as it is so big, and there are so many views at different parts of the day. It's also the first place I go whenever I have a new lens to try it out - many of my shots come from here.

Time

This was taken during sunset. I'd gone out specifically at that time - about 4pm in Winter when the sun is really low and the sky very often flames ornage and purple and pink and just seems on fire. It's one of my favourite times of day to shoot.

Lighting

I think the lighting is fairly obvious - it isn't called Golden Hour for nothing. The thing with sunset is it is always worth waiting for 20 minutes after sunset. That's when the sun hits the clouds and splits and you get the beautiful dark colours purples, reds and pinks, mixing down to the orange and yellow at the horizon. It's wprth waiting that extra twenty minutes - I've seen people pack up and go home after capturing a sunset, not knowing what would happen if they just waited a bit longer. Of course I learnt the hard way by doing the same once, and then seeing a fantastic sky after I'd packed my gear up.

Equipment

This was taken with a Canon 6D and a Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 - one of the best lenses I have ever owned for landscapes - certainly the best value for money. The colours and detail that it captures are unbelievable.

Inspiration

I love nature - it's as simple as that. I wanted to get as much detail as possible so I took 5 photographs portrait orientation and then stitched them together. I wanted to catch the grandeur of the sky all the way across. I think being outside feeds our muse - our creativity. We don't have to set the stage or set anything up - just you, the camera, and the great outdoors. It's a good way to replenish the energy. In short, the view itself inspired me, and the conditions, and my affection for the location.

Editing

This was simply stitched together and processed in Lightroom. There was so much depth and colour in the raw image nothing else was needed. I probably used a gradient filter in lightroom to process the sky seperately - I love a dramatic sky - but I'm very much in favour, for landscapes, for doing as little as possible. I also have in my portfolio work that is much more heavily processed, but that is with a different vision in mind.

In my camera bag

I've moved from Canon to Sony, so I have a Sony A7ii, A Sony Zeiss 16-35mm lens, A Sony 24-240mm lens, A Tokina SP 90mm macro lens and LEA-4 adapter to allow that to fit onto the camera. I also have the Nissin Air 1 commander remote flash controller and the Nissin Di700 Flash, and finally my Manfrotto Tripod. I then have a Hoya 10 stop Pro filter - a very good ND filter with very little colour tinge.

Feedback

Wrap up warm if your out in winter or in the colder weather - even if it's warm when the sun is up the temperature can drop quickly. Go out early and find the best spot - you don't want to see the perfect shot and realise your 300 yards from the ideal spot - the sky can change so quickly. Make sure you know your camera - practice practice practice. Get to know it in manual mode, or at least Aperture mode for landscapes. That way you get the best out of the picture. And the final thing - patience. It's always worth waiting that extra bit of time just to see what happens - sometimes it just goes dark, but the more you go out at this time the more you get to recognise when you are going to get a certain type of sky, or when it is likely to be misty. But this knowledge comes from experience, and experience comes from just doing it. So get out there and shoot!

See more amazing photos, follow ianwatts

ianwatts

ianwatts

Bunny Hill Panorama

A series of photographs from a walk around Bunny Hill, literally 3 minutes walk from my door!!

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow ianwatts

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