ViewBug community member raven-black is a passionate landscape photographer from Germany. "My name is Ulrich I´m from Butzbach, Germany a little town nearby Frankfurt on Main. I'm a hobby photographer and my main focus in photography is capturing nature and landscape scenes. I work as technician and after office work I grab my camera, tripod and go out in the nature. Our world is so unique and I like to show a little bit of my view on it."
Where did you take this photo?
This photo was taken in Lofoten/Norway and this house stands near Reine, a little village on the Lofoten island Moskenes. At this time I was on tour with some crazy landscape photographers like me. We started our tour on this day in midday and it ended the next morning at 08.00 o clock in our hotel. To this picture, it was taken at 23:00 in the night.
Anything worth sharing about lighting?
For me a landscape photographer, nature brings the light. So my job is to get these colors and a special atmosphere on the sensor. Today the sensors of our cameras are monsters no matter which manufacturer you use. But don't believe, that your main job is post-processing. Your camera is a tool that you should have to master. Learn to read the histogram while you are photographing is more important than being a photoshop crack.
What equipment did you use?
This picture was taken with a Sony A7 R3 and the Sony 24-70 GM. Of course a tripod, remote control, and a grey filter.
Any advice for others trying to capture something similar?
For me, landscape photography is absolute relaxation. But before, there is a lot of planning and scouting. For that I use google earth, I speak with other photographers and take information in photo-blogs. I use some apps on my phone to inform me when will the sun get down, the best time for the blue hour, and a good weather app to inform about rain, clouds, wind, etc. If I find a new location to photograph, my first step isn't taking my camera. First I enjoy the landscape around me and get a feeling for its specialties. I think the most important thing for photographing landscape is, take enough time with you.
What inspired you to take this photo?
I saw this house with its yellow/orange light and the blue colors around it, I was flashed. It was a mystic mood and then I had great luck, that the fog was coming. This is the cherry on top.
Did you do any post-processing?
Of course, I did some post-processing. The original is a raw-file and post-processing is a duty. So the first step was in Lightroom, some changes to exposure like contrast, lights, darks, etc. After that, I went to Photoshop cc and used some luminosity masks for finishing.
What equipment do you normally have in your bag?
Normally my bag is a backpack. In it, there are mostly two cams, lenses from 12 to 135 mm, filter holder, grey filter, nd filter, remote control, towels for cleaning the filter, and of course a tripod.
