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Soft light on Palouse Hills
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Soft light on Palouse Hills



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It was late afternoon and the dust from the farmers working the fields mixed with the golden light to give the hills a soft surreal look....
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It was late afternoon and the dust from the farmers working the fields mixed with the golden light to give the hills a soft surreal look.
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cameraNIKON D800

settings Aperture 22/1 ISO 100 Shutter 4/10 Focal Length 3000/10 

upload_dateJul, 2016

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Awards

Contest Finalist in My Incredible Landscape Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Creative Landscapes Photo Contest vol3
Winner in Landscapes with Buildings Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Rural Vistas Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol4
Contest Finalist in 80 Stays Around the World Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Celebrating The Green Color Photo Contest
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30 Comments |
Donnadieu
 
Donnadieu November 04, 2016
Great picture
MikeHarvey
 
MikeHarvey November 05, 2016
Now all i need to do is get my 800 to take pictures like this,very nice work
Kevinscreativecaptures PRO
 
Kevinscreativecaptures December 08, 2016
Palouse is a incredible place any time of the year.
Robert222 Platinum
 
Robert222 December 23, 2016
stunning!
rahman12_2000
 
rahman12_2000 February 02, 2017
amazing shot, no words to describe, wonderful iighitn, composition and position of yours while taking the pics
andrasroth
 
andrasroth February 03, 2017
Stunning!!!
FredericMONIN Platinum
 
FredericMONIN February 03, 2017
Great landscape !!!
MaxRastello
 
MaxRastello February 11, 2017
Outstanding composition and colors
marcdewitt PRO
 
marcdewitt February 28, 2017
Absolutely gorgeous! I must go there.
rogerbradshaw
 
rogerbradshaw March 10, 2017
Gorgeous image, love it. One of best seen in VB
davidwilde
 
davidwilde April 17, 2017
I grew up in Pullman, this is a fantastic shot that truly captures the serenity of the Palouse, well done!
nbt8808
 
nbt8808 April 20, 2017
Amazing shot
NatureLoverJJWal
 
NatureLoverJJWal April 21, 2017
Majestic patterns and amazing levels by level colors! Congratulations on your award!
Uvongo
 
Uvongo May 25, 2017
Stunning shot! Amazing colors and details!
MariuszOlszak
 
MariuszOlszak July 09, 2017
Pi?kne miejsce i niezwykle trafnie uchwycona mnogo?? odcieni zieleni. Pi?kne!
tndeberecz
 
tndeberecz August 31, 2017
Very ,very nice!
FastHandPhoto
 
FastHandPhoto October 10, 2017
Wow, Gorgeous
Down2Earthtravelinspirer
 
Down2Earthtravelinspirer January 28, 2018
Simply utterly spendidly Brilliant.
manivannanmanivannan
 
manivannanmanivannan March 09, 2018
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique.
steffographie
 
steffographie March 19, 2018
Wow ???? amazing photo
markkrause PRO
 
markkrause September 03, 2018
Congratulations on being a winner in Rural Vistas!
sharonotero
 
sharonotero September 29, 2018
This is an absolutely gorgeous photo. Just wow.
margitulstrup PRO
 
margitulstrup February 09, 2019
Amazing shot
sumit123
 
sumit123 February 12, 2019
nice click
MaryAnne306 PRO+
 
MaryAnne306 March 18, 2019
Amazing photo--and amazing landscape, too. Congratulations on all your contest awards!
edwardlrose PRO+
 
edwardlrose March 18, 2019
Beautiful, congrats
rpdhjja PRO+
 
rpdhjja March 19, 2019
Masterpiece...
marcdewitt PRO
 
marcdewitt November 16, 2019
Wow. Just wow. Surreal is right. The foreground interest makes it, combined with the endless undulating of the rolling hills...
bryanvanveldhuizen
 
bryanvanveldhuizen January 20, 2020
Wow! Amazing view :)
albertogarca
 
albertogarca October 25, 2020
fantastic light!.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#green hills #washington state #palouse #granary
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Behind The Lens

Location

I planned a trip to Washington State to the Palouse region in hopes of capturing a photo or two of the magical hills that I had seen in articles. This photo was taken at Steptoe Butte State Park, on a windy afternoon. I was so pleased this photo turned out so well as the wind was gusting and I had zoomed out to 300mm on my lens.

Time

It was late in the afternoon at the end of May. My husband and I arrived at the Steptoe Butte State Park and drove to the top. We then worked our way down - stopping to shoot on both the north and south side of the park across the fields below as the sun dropped.

Lighting

It is all about the light. On this day, the light was magical due in part to it being the golden hour just before sunset. And also because the dust from the farmers working the fields during the day, hung in the air giving it a misty hazy look.

Equipment

I shot this with my Nikon D800, 28-300mm / f3.5-5.6 lens, and a tripod. I also set up next to the car and I used the car to help block the wind.

Inspiration

I had seen some amazing shots of green hills, and I had to know where to shoot such amazing photos. My research pointed to the Palouse region so my next opportunity to visit Washington state included a long weekend in the Palouse area. This particular photo was inspired by the late afternoon sun casting the shadows and the amazing golden light enhanced by the dust from the farmers fields.

Editing

I use Lightroom to organize my photos and do a majority of the post processing. For this photo, the post processing was minimal. It was limited to removing sensor dust spots, adding a filter on the hills at the top of the photo to decrease the level of haze, and a bit of sharpening to only a couple of the buildings.

In my camera bag

At the time I shot this photo, the Nikon 28-300mm was my "go to" lens. Now, the 24-70mm / f2.8 is my go to lens. My camera bag contains my Nikon D800, Nikon 24-70 / f2.8, 70-200 / f2.8, wide angle 18-35mm / f3.5, and a 2x teleconverter to be able to go in tight with the 70-200mm. Depending on where I'm shooting, I may include my 60mm / f2.8 Macro. For filters, I always carry a circular polarizer, and a set of Lee filters: a soft graduated ND, a hard ND and a big stopper. I also have several sets of memory cards 64G and 32G, several extra batteries, lens clothes, a small air blower and allen wrenches for my tripod and tripod brackets.

Feedback

I believe that capturing a good photo starts with planning and research. It's about being at the right place at the right time, but even then, it doesn't always work out (e.g., the weather may not cooperate). What sticks out in my mind is a workshop where the leader said, "it takes 20 times". What he meant was that a photographer may have to visit the same location up to 20 times in order to capture a "great" shot. A shot where there is something magical that sets the photo apart from being "good" to being "great". From a practical perspective, I start by envisioning the photo I want to take. I then do a lot of research and planning. I research the area via books and online. I look at photos from the area to get additional ideas. I also research the angle of the sun (LightTrac), and the time of sunset/sunrise for my visit. Then if possible, I scout out the exact location where I want to shoot. Mostly, I make sure I am at the right place at the right time, and then I hope something magical happens to make the shot great. For this shot, I was lucky, it happened on the first visit.

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