carolmanglos
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The fall colors in Central New York are breathtaking, and this photo was taken at the peak of their color. I live near Green Lakes State Park,which contains two meromictic lakes carved by glaciers long ago. This is a view of Round Lake from the northern edge of the lake, as the morning storm clouds were clearing.Time
Every Saturday morning at 8pm my friend Nancy and I hike around both lakes, and that would have put us at this point around 8:30am.Lighting
Mother Nature did all the lighting in this shot! The clouds had just cleared from an early morning storm, and the reflections in the still water were as if in a mirror: The foliage and the clouds were almost perfectly replicated in the lake surface.Equipment
I have to be honest, and am somewhat timid to say that this shot was taken with a 10mp cell phone! I have some great equipment: An Olympus E510 camera with several Olympus lenses, all of which I love, but do not always take them with me on my hikes. That said, when you see a shot, you must take it if you can! I am able to take different exposures with my phone, so I took three different exposures and processed with Photomatix to HDR.Inspiration
The scene on this morning was so breathtaking to me: The fall colors, the reflections on the water, and I just felt that this beauty needed to be preserved and shared. The colors fade quickly but a good photo can revive the memories of beauty, and beauty is something that always brings life.Editing
As previously stated, I took three exposures of this scene and processed to HDR with a program called Photomatix. I also have Photoshop, which can also produce HDR photos, but I mostly prefer Photomatix.In my camera bag
Normally, I carry my Olympus E510 camera, along with several different Olympus/Zuiko lenses: A 35mm macro, a 14-42mm stock lens, a 40-150mm and a 70-300mm. I also sometimes carry an Opteka 500mm lens and a tripod, when I'm doing moon shots.Feedback
One of the things that makes a photo really stand out to me is its composition. A well-framed shot with intriguing subject matter can speak beyond the photo. It is, of course, important to know your equipment's capabilities, but I've seen some amazing shots taken with cell phones, and that pays homage to the photographers ability to frame a shot that has something to say. I would encourage anyone to learn about composition, rule of thirds, etc. and train your eyes to see these things in the photos you shoot. The rule of thirds is not just a theory, but an observation of what makes the difference between a good photo and a great one: The mathematical formula for rule-of-thirds comes from nature, and what is already beautiful to the human eye.