joseramos

Plot Twist

Photo made in the unique palafite peer in Carrasqueira, Portugal. This is one of the few remaining palafite constructions in the world, used by portuguese fishe...
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Photo made in the unique palafite peer in Carrasqueira, Portugal. This is one of the few remaining palafite constructions in the world, used by portuguese fishermen to keep their boats anchored.

José Ramos ©

Sony a77 + Sigma 10-20mm
Exposure: 30 seconds
Aperture: f11
ISO: 100
Hitech 3 stop soft ND grad
Hitech 10 stop ND
Manfrotto Tripod
Remote Shutter
Terrascape filter bag
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SONY SLT-A77V

settings

Aperture f/11 ISO 100 Shutter 30/1 Focal Length 100/10

upload_date

Sep, 2015

Views

8611

Likes

+1.2k

Awards

Zenith Award

Creative Winter Award

Curator's Selection

Summer 2020

2020 Choice Award

Contest Finalist in Sunrises vs Sunsets Photo Contest

Superb Composition

+242

Peer Award

+206

Absolute Masterpiece

+160

Top Choice

+77

Outstanding Creativity

+58

All Star

+18

Magnificent Capture

+15

Superior Skill

+13

Genius

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was made in one of my all time favorite spots, which is the unique Palafite Pier in Carrasqueira, Portugal. It's a wood pier built by local fishermen, to keep their boats anchored. It's also a fantastic place for landscape photography.

Time

The piers are oriented towards west, so sunset is the best time of the day to shoot this place.

Lighting

There are many different piers on this spot, so you should take into account the specific sunset positioning for the current time of the year. The end of the pier structure offers the cleanest compositions so I positioned myself there. I've shot this place quite a few times, but this was one of the best session, specially due to the cloud shapes, complementing the foreground composition.

Equipment

I used a Sony a77 with a Sigma 10-20mm f4-f5.6 wide angle lens. Since this is a 30 second long exposure, a sturdy tripod was also essential, as well as a remote wireless shutter. For proper exposure I also used a 10 stop full ND filter and a 3 stop soft ND Grad filter.

Inspiration

I called this photo "Plot Twist", as all the twists and turns of the pier structure always remind me of the choices we make in life and how unexpected shifts in the course of our existence always seem to be sneaking around every corner.

Editing

As it happens with all landscape photos, the digital negative has been submitted to post-processing. I used Adobe Camera Raw conversion and then did some further tweaking in Photoshop, with the added help of Nik Color Effex. This image was extremely difficult to edit as the sky had an extremely strong magenta cast in it. This image was shot before I had properly neutral full ND filters, so it had the classical magenta cast in the sky, as well as stronger red-yellow colors, much like it would happen with a warming filter. I tried the best I could to shift the magenta into a proper warm color, to make it more like the real-life color, albeit more intense. This was the final result, and I love how the strong red sky complements the blue water. I also tweaked contrast and added local contrast enhancement adjustments to make the image "pop" more.

In my camera bag

Right now I'm using the following gear: - Sony a7R + Zeiss 16-35mm f4 - Other lenses: Sony 10-18mm f4; 50mm f1.8, Tamron 28-75mm f2.8; Minolta 135mm f2.8 - Vanguard Tripods - Vanguard Backpacks - Nisi filters (4, 7 and 10 stops full ND; 3 stops Reverse ND Grad; 4 stops soft ND Grad) - Terrascape filter bag - Remote wireless shutter; microfiber cloths, wet cloths, dust blower, headlight, torch, camera rain cover, spare batteries

Feedback

As it usually happens in landscape photography, getting a photo like this will either need extreme luck or a combination of dedication and perseverance. You should manage to get a good combination of sunset, high tide, proper sun positioning, interesting clouds, not too many photographers or mosquitoes in the spot, composition with a wide angle lens, proper tripod height, big depth of field and good use of filters or exposure blending!

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joseramos

joseramos

Plot Twist

Photo made in the unique palafite peer in Carrasqueira, Portugal. This is one of the few remaining palafite constructions in the world, used by portuguese fishe... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow joseramos

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Photo made in the unique palafite peer in Carrasqueira, Portugal. This is one of the few remaining palafite constructions in the world, used by portuguese fishe...
Read more

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