CorinaO
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gilbertaldous
July 28, 2015
Having only just joined ViewBug & recently got my old fave camera replaced, I always try to capture exactly what my eyes see. This is very rarely possible, but you seem to have done it here. Amazing lighting & it seems really spooky!
CorinaO
July 29, 2015
Hi Gilbert and welcome to ViewBug! I think that's every photographer's Holy Grail quest, to capture exactly what we feel and see. Thank you very much for this heart warming complement!
CorinaO
October 21, 2015
Thank you so much Alicia I really appreciate it! It is an abandonned chateau in France :) You can read more details about it at the bottom of the 'He used to sit here' photo :)
nandicmb
February 23, 2016
Congratulations on your Contest Finalist win in Covers Photo Contest Vol 25!
sgroome
February 26, 2016
Wow just over a year of being of ViewBug! And what a year it has been - keep of the great work!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an 17th century chateau in North France, which was abandonned since the 70s. Formely known as the Monkey Chateau thanks to the various murals depicting monkeys, it is now known as the Madness Chateau.Time
Though I had spent the whole day, this particular photo was taken late in the afternoon during the sunset.Lighting
I have rarely had the opportunity to shoot in such light conditions in winter. It was a perfect sunset and filled the room with a very bright yet cold light. As the sun was rapidly going down, in a matter of 20 minutes this room must have changed at least 10 faces, each themed with equally beautiful colors and different shadows.Equipment
My all time warrior, the Nikon D3000 with a basic Nikon AF-S 18 - 105 mm f/3,5 - 5,6. A simple as that.Inspiration
There's a sad story behind this chateau. Its last owner was living alone for years and due to many financial problems he was reduced to living in only a small part of this estate, using small portable gas heaters to go through the long french winters. He was found by a neighbor a week after he had passed away from old age. I started shooting the different rooms of this chateau early in the afternoon. Upon entering this secondary living room, the sunset had begun. I imagined what it was like, sitting in front of the fire and enjoying a cup of tea after a long day. A warm light filled the room, making me forget about the decaying state of it and filling me with a sad yet strangely comforting loneliness. I wanted to transmit this feeling through this photograph.Editing
In order to capture every detail of the room and especially the light and shadows I used the HDR technique. I combined 3 photographs shot at different lighting modes : One under-exposed, one normally exposed and one over-exposed.In my camera bag
The basic photography material apart (camera, a basic 15-108 mm lens, a 50 mm lens, a 35 mm and other lenses depending on the photoshoot, tripod, filters and extra batteries) I always carry a few liquid hand warmers (life savers in extreme conditions as frozen hands can be quite painful and make you miss a brilliant photo opportunity), chemical lighting sticks as most buildings I explore have poor light conditions and an indestructible cell phone in case of an emergency. .. Oh and some snacks as most photoshoots last from 5 to even 10 hours !Feedback
Patience, programming and readiness! Whenever I have a strong feeling or message that I want to transmit through my photographs, I take the time to study the surroundings and try and visualize the result before taking the photograph. Light is always the key, different moments of the day tell a different story through the same photograph. Which also means, always be ready, especially during sunrise and sunset, when the light changes every few minutes. These kind of places usually have very poor lighting conditions, which forces us to boost up the ISO settings and have that dreadful grain in the end. To avoid this, use the tripod and the timer on your camera. And finally for the HDR technique: As my camera does not have a bracketing function, I used the spot measure for the lighting : One spot measure at the brightest part of the room and one at the darkest so as to capture all the possible details of the room in the over and underexposed photographs.