Today we are happy to share the story of ViewBug community member duanenorrie and some tips you probably never heard before.
My Name is Duane Norrie and I have been a photographer well over 30 years. I started out with 35mm film camera and I did my own processing of images in a wet darkroom.
I left Photography for a while as I went to work but then in 1998 I started to get into photography again and purchased a Canon D60. I went out to see if I still had the skills I had learned, unfortunately I didn't. But as we all know Photography is a skill that can be learned again, and learn I did, and I did it the hard way. I went out and shot squirrels whilst I was living in England and much to my surprise the old skills came back.
Duanenorrie, where did you take this photo?
This photo was shot on the edge of Lake Tekapo, South Island of New Zealand.. The Church name is " The Church of the Good Shepherd". I drove all the way from Dunedin in the lower part of New Zealands south Island to take this shot, I got there roughly around 5ish so and it took me 3hrs to get there. I wanted a morning shoot with clouds and as you can guess it was cold as I shot this during winter. I have photographed this building many times but my intention was to slow my shoot right down using a Nd Filter a tripod and a long exposure.
What equipment did you use?
I used a Canon 7d with a Battery grip with a really right stuff carbon fibre tripod and a BH55 ball head for smooth movement.
What inspired you to take this photo?
I love this church and the location and every time I go past it I always stop and take some photos hoping that one day I will get the ultimate shot.
Did you do any post-processing? If yes, tell us about it!
I used Lightroom and silver effexs Pro to create black and white but mostly the picture was already there I just used Silver Effexs to give the feeling I wanted
Can you share 5 tips with your fellow ViewBug members?
1. Go back to a site you like many times, the seasons and weather constantly change.
2. Shoot from low down to give your images a feeling of height.
3. Dress appropriately. I usually bring my fingerless gloves.
4. Your car's heater can "fix" your camera. My 7D stopped working during a shoot in the South Island, I just placed it in my car with the heater on low. After 30 minutes it started working perfectly once again. Give your lens time to adjust to the temperature and all will be find.
5. Always shoot 5 frames of exposure. I usually shoot two under exposed images by 1 stop each, a correct exposure shot and 2 over exposed shots by 2 stops and 1 between each one i.e. ( -2 -1 0 +1 +2 ) and always shoot in RAW as this gives you a far greater chance of recovery if your exposure is a little off.
These are some of our favorite photos in duanenorrie's profile
