A new Venice in a new style of photography, submerge in the details behind this awarded shot by damonmcdonald:
"I am a Chemistry and science teacher for an International School in Qatar. I have just started taking photographs in the last 2 years and only now am I learning the tricks of the trade. I love landscape work, but more specifically, I enjoy night time shooting, especially at blue hour work. I do not have the top quality equipment...yet, but with time, skills and some extra money, I can take my photography to the next level."
Photo details:
This photo was taken in one of the newest property developments in Doha, Qatar. There is a serious shortage of greenery and parks with landscapes a photographer would be happy to shoot, therefore I spend most of my time shooting the buildings around Doha. This district was built around the Venetian ideal; all properties look out onto lovely canals and small bridges. It's quite unlike any other real estate in Doha.
I am always trying to manipulate light. I prefer low light conditions and in this case, it was late in the afternoon, around 17:30 p.m. If possible, I try to incorporate some blue hour into my images, and hopefully I will be able to catch the moody shadows and light play that comes with low light shooting.
I love the light play of warm windows and outdoor lamps, street lights, etc. and how the light reacts on the rest of the scene. I am only just beginning to appreciate how light works in photography and in particular, how post processing can help to accentuate the kind of look I am going for.
Many of the locations around Qatar are considered off-limits to photography. Many of the beautiful buildings in the city are tough to shoot because of these restrictions and that leaves a small bag of the same locations being represented over and over. This area, particularly for the middle east, is a nice change, with beautiful scenes and colours, water and sky, and something architecturally different from the rest of the country.
In this shot, I used one RAW image. I use Lightroom 5 as my main processor. I am terrified of Photoshop, but I have overcome some basics and I was able to soften the water as well as extend the exposure of the clouds for that drifting effect. There was a hint of saturation and I have only just started using dodge and burn to help with some shadows and highlights.
Equipment:
I have a Canon 60d with an 18-135 mm kit lens and a Tokina 11-16 mm wide angle. Most of my scenes use the Tokina lens and on occasion I will revert back to the kit lens. I also use a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. No flash was used and no other equipment was used.
As I am very much an amateur enthusiast, I cannot even comment on the bag, as I just drag my 60d and carry my tripod in my other hand. I have two batteries and I used to have the Hahnel Giga T Pro remote but it has since stopped working. I also have a 9-stop ND filter (which I never use) so my 'bag' is relatively bleak. With more time, I hope to populate that bag with bigger and better equipment!
Advice:
The more I learn about post processing techniques, I realize that one image just cannot capture enough of the dynamic range that comes with low light scenes especially cityscapes which have a multitude of every possible lighting condition. In order to capture the greatest representation of light for your scene is to blend exposures. Many obviously use HDR to make this happen, but manually blending images allows for so much more control over your image. Even though I am only just beginning to adopt these techniques into my workflow, in this particular case, I did not manage the final product that I was after using only one image, but I am still happy with the final product.
Enjoy more of Damon's unique shots:
