Fuerte Capron, Look out fortress made by the American troops the year they entered the Guanica bay on July 25, 1898, It's a beautiful location and lots to ...
Read more
Fuerte Capron, Look out fortress made by the American troops the year they entered the Guanica bay on July 25, 1898, It's a beautiful location and lots to look at.
Read less
Read less
Views
580
Likes
Awards
2020 Choice Award
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Top Ranks
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this shot at the pueblo of Guanica in Puerto Rico, this fort was built in memory of Capt. Allyn K.Capron who died in Cuba in the Spanish American war of 1898 when the US Invaded Puerto Rico that same year, Guanica was one of the towns that the US came in through, The view from this small fortress is very beautiful!Time
It was late in the afternoon around 5:40pm we started to walk up the hill that's about a good 40 min making a stop here and there for air I think I took this shot was around 6:40pmLighting
Well the day was sunny but when we got up to the fortress there was nothing but clouds all over the sky there was a little drama in the clouds so that's always good, the only thing I was hoping for was for the sun to be able to fall into this hole in the sky in the far distance right about in the path of the sun going down, I knew if we get just a few minutes of that golden hour I could do something in the meantime I started gettings the settings ready it was dark we had less light because of the clouds I have my tripod ready but thinking this could end fast I decided to make it a hand held event so I had to play with the ISO I don't want to much, my speed has to be slower and my f/stop also makes a big difference.Equipment
I used my Nikon D800 with a 17-35mm Nikkor 2.8, and a ProMaster "Scout SC423" tripodInspiration
I have been to this spot before many times and I always believe no matter how many times I go there's alway a good moment if you look for it or feel it out, The last time I was there when I was leaving I looked back and said humm I could have taken a shot with the sun at the beginning of the golden hour looking through that window, so that stood in my mind for a long time and on this day as we waited to see if the sun was going to make an appearance through the clouds I was on top of the fortress, suddenly it started to appear through the only opening in the sky, there are other people with me and as we all waited for I could see it was going to be to bright and that's when I took a few steps back and went down the stairs to get the shot I wanted for a long time, the night was mystical the moment was just right! and it was going to be just me and the fortress, I took the shot's hand held like I like to play always, I had a great time and even got a few different shots that came out great!Editing
I always do post processing, for this shot I had to brighten my shadows and lower my highlight but not to much, I gave it some clarity and dehaze, I sharpen it and clean the noise in Adobe Lightroom then when I'm done there I open the photo it in Photoshop and finish there with whatever, mostly not much just the finishing and lowering the size and resolution and watermarking it for social media, I always go with what I think and know how it should look for me, I think we all have a special way of how we see things and that's what I try to express, I gave it vibrance and saturation you have to know how much is to much and never go overboard with the colors. Contrast, color, and clarity to me is everything, then sharpen and noiseIn my camera bag
I have a D800 with a Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 and a D7200 with a Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5 a lightweight ProMaster tripod and a small LowePro backpack I have had since 2003 it has not even fallen apart I have had many backpacks and all have failed but not this one so I keep going with it I only take one gear with me the D800 or the D7200 and do with what I have for that day I don't like to carry to much I just added a DJI Mavic Air 2 and that's going to be coming along in all my trips! I also do a lot of cell phone photography and it's a lot of fun too!Feedback
It all depends on the light if I had taken this shot on a sunny day it would have told another story, overcast days are good for structures,buildings, homes, architecture, the shadows are not dark as to when you have bright or harsh light, always look to tell a story even with just one shot you could have a beginning and an ending of a story, don't just capture a photo capture whatever has stopped you to look at because it called you and caught your attention that's a story!