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After the storm
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After the storm



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Parys Mountain, Anglesey. UK

Parys Mountain, Anglesey. UK
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upload_dateAug, 2014

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919

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Awards

Featured
Contest Finalist in HDR Only Photo Contest
Peer Award
diegoscaglione davidjprosser Tudorof billmartin_2615 ileanaandreagmezgavinoser djalmaarmelin NancyFlemingPhotography +45
Superb Composition
Redsandbeach altheamarcelomappala picturesfromabove LElizabethImages Martialmike heathertaulbee phillgnillep +24
Absolute Masterpiece
kevintorres fixa JessicaDeAnn roslynwitter robiecagle BlueSageMoon calanrance +16
Outstanding Creativity
joshblanchard_3998 PicTionArtist elmariegrobler wadewallace95 9164_4292 gurrasson123 kanhavmahajan +11
Top Choice
ivanHralexis. goryachkinphoto lizellis_4443 Livius Montanalynn Stacey_3398 jengunn +9
All Star
CallmeMarta SMM1 dinukdeshan jonnywilliams
Magnificent Capture
animals
Jaw Dropping
robcarr
Exceptional Contrast
Kksgram
Superior Skill
Barbpsp4
Love it
Albert-Serra-Photography

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Creative Boundaries Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
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Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 20 rank
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Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
HDR Only Photo ContestTop 10 rank
National Parks Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
Cloud Painting Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Cloud Painting Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fall 2014 Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 3
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End of the Earth Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1

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3 Comments |
robcarr
 
robcarr August 27, 2014
parys mountain ???
MikeHawkes Premium
MikeHawkes August 27, 2014
Yes
jonnywilliams Platinum
 
jonnywilliams September 02, 2015
Nicely Capture Visited a few times myself Well done on getting finalist :)
Beth888
 
Beth888 April 18, 2017
Beautiful

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#windmill #clouds #landscape
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Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken on top of Parys Mountain on the beautiful island of Anglesey, North Wales. It's a copper mine that was active from Roman times through to the 1980's. The tower was a combined steam and wind-powered water pump to keep the mine safe.

Time

It was taken on a very stormy Saturday afternoon

Lighting

As soon as I saw the mountains in the distance and the bright areas in the sky, I knew I'd need to use HDR rather than a 'normal' shot. I wanted to capture the colour of the heather too - so it needed something beyond a single frame.

Equipment

Nikon D800 and my trusty 28-300mm 1:3.5-5.6G. I have an old but very solid Slik tripod that works well in windy conditions. Worth keeping some of the older kit around for this type of rough work.

Inspiration

How could I not take this photo? The cloud cover and the vast bleak top of a mountain destroyed by years of mining and weather ... I just had to take the shot.

Editing

This is a 9-frame HDR, assembled using HDR-Pro. Minimal processing, but I had to desaturate slightly as HDR-Pro can (in my opinion) make things a little garish, if not careful. Sharpened slightly.

In my camera bag

D800, Nikkor 28-300MM 1:3.5-5.6G; 16-35mm 1:4GED; SB-900; 3 LED Lights; Assorted filters (ND, Variable ND and Grads, Polariser, Colour Grads).

Feedback

Take your time. Walk around until you find the composition. Take the extra few shots - for HDR, I generally use 7 or 9 shots. It costs you nothing in real terms but gives you substantially better results. Also, weigh down the tripod - it gets windy on the top of the mountains. Also, I prepare for rain at any moment - conditions change quickly so keep an eye on the weather while sorting out everything else.

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