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WatsonLake

Watson lake is located near Prescott, Arizona. It has beautiful blue water, rock formations, hiking areas, and an interesting story to go along....
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Watson lake is located near Prescott, Arizona. It has beautiful blue water, rock formations, hiking areas, and an interesting story to go along.
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FE210,X775

settings

Aperture f/4.6 ISO 64 Shutter 1/500

upload_date

Jun, 2014

Views

848

Likes

+114

Awards

Superb Composition

+21

Peer Award

+14

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Magnificent Capture

Outstanding Creativity

Superior Skill

All Star

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

Watson Lake near Prescott, Arizona

Time

Early to Mid-morning (around 9:00am-10am) at that time of the year (Fall).

Lighting

It was a clear day. Shadows were easily visible and the water was clear. Perfect conditions for a photograph.

Equipment

I used an Olympus point and shoot camera, without a tripod. It had a telephoto lens but I don't remember the details.

Inspiration

The quiet beauty of the lake. I wanted to preserve it in a picture.

Editing

I did some minor cropping to get the composition I wanted, so the focus was on the key point- the reflection of the rock in the clear water.

In my camera bag

Just my camera. I used to carry a telephoto lens, but currently I am not doing that (that could change). Without much to carry, I am able to move around a lot quicker, and I like that.

Feedback

Choose the right time of the day, so the light is in your favor. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best. I learned this from my oil painting training in the past. I have used some of those concepts in my photographs. Unless you are planning to photograph at night or in stormy/cloudy weather, the quality of the natural light is one of the most important factors in getting a high quality photograph. When you find a spot you would like to photograph, think of possible compositions. I often take pictures with and without the telephoto lens, then decide which pictures work. Avoid excessive exposure. Try to get light and shadows in the photograph to make it appealing and more than 2-dimensional, if possible. About composition, don't try to communicate too much information through the photograph; just a key point or two that made you decide to take that photo. Walk around a lot and shoot at different angles that interest you. Choose a few photos as possibilities. The same spot can create different photographs for you. In the majority of cases, I crop them to get the exact composition. I may make some adjustments to the brightness and contrast on the computer, depending on how it looks. I may try those for comparison, but in most cases I end up with the original photograph, with a little cropping. Some need a lot of cropping. The composition makes a big difference. That was another lesson from oil painting that I have always used in photography.

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WatsonLake

Watson lake is located near Prescott, Arizona. It has beautiful blue water, rock formations, hiking areas, and an interesting story to go along.... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Vash01Photo

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Watson lake is located near Prescott, Arizona. It has beautiful blue water, rock formations, hiking areas, and an interesting story to go along....
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.