Photos of hills aren't supposed to be this three-dimensional! Check out the magical landscape images of ViewBug member kbrowko, which might trick you into believing you're wearing 3D glasses.
kbrowko, where did you take this photo and at what time of the day?
A few kilometres behind San Quirico d'Orcia, in the direction of Pienza, there is an exit to the left; the way leads to some farms, located in the heart of the Val di Orcia valley. The photo was taken at dawn of 1st April 2014
Anything worth sharing about lighting?
A few minutes after the sunrise, the scene being photographed, looked quite presentable. The sunlight lit taller fragments of the fields, creating interesting parts. The Tuscany farm that I placed in the “strong pointâ€, lets those who look at the picture estimate the scale of the shot.
What equipment did you use?
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
tripod Manfrotto
What inspired you to take this photo?
This year I decided to visit this region in spring, to see the fresh green fields and, of course, to take photos of them. The end of March and the beginning of April are the time when the prices are reasonable and there aren't too many tourists yet.
Most commonly, in the case of my lens (canon ef 100-400L), I use f16 and f18 lens stops in order for the sharpness of the depths to be the greatest. Many of my colleagues use a smaller "GO" and often photograph things while holding the body of a camera in their hands, yet I believe that the system that I had developed, works really well. Still, just in case, I do three exposures. If the photographed scene does not combine the sky, +1EV and -1EV are sufficient
Did you do any post-processing?
In this case I took and I developed two RAWs. The first one showed in an appropriate way, a lower part of the photograph. The other one (a bit darker) was used to show the back plains. In both cases I set the clarity for -20, which resulted in achieving a softer picture. Using masks, I appropriately connected them in a graphic software, achieving a range of tones, satisfying for me. In a way, it resembles using a grey, half filter. The remaining part of the preparations was more traditional. Using, the curves I obtained a satisfying contrast in lights and shadows. Using the colour balance, I gently warmed the colours. Additionally, I emphasized the lights with a brightening brush with a very little cover.
At this stage, one can also use a ready softening filter or selectively, soften the picture.. This process is worth doing, excluding such elements as the building or the trees. At the final stage I sharpened selectively such elements as the building, the bushes and the trees, leaving the area of the fields unsharpened.
What equipment do you normally have in your bag?
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Canon EF17-40mm f4 L
tripod Manfrotto
Any advice for others trying to capture something similar?
It is worth to look for wavy areas (agricultural preferably). The direction of sunrays is particularly important. Watch the way the colours of fields change, depending on the angle that you set your lens. In such places, there often appear agricultural machines which can interestingly add variety to the composition.A wavy area hides many surprises in itself. It often happens that you walk only a hundred meters and discover a completely new display frame.
Enjoy more of these 3D like images, visit kbrowko's profile.
