Country Roads III
Endless, straight and beautiful. This is travel on the prairies.
Endless, straight and beautiful. This is travel on the prairies.
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Mar, 2014Views
1780
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Awards
ThinkTank Changeup Bag
Contest Finalist in Road To Nowhere Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
All Star
Exceptional Contrast
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Jaw Dropping
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Behind The Lens
Location
Much of my landscape photography is captured in SE Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is known as "The Land of The Living Skies" with its wide-open vistas. This photo was captured on one of the thousands of "grid" roads which criss-cross the province. These grid roads are often very long and straight and can seem endless. I often find myself framing a landscape like this with far more sky than ground, to try to encompass the amazing skies and feeling of openness.Time
I am a big fan of captured twilight and sunrise (more than sunset). However, the summer months can produce amazing cloud formations and storms throughout the day and warm afternoons. This cloud formation drew my attention and I headed out to capture at 5:30pm in late July. My home at the time was in Yorkton, Saskatchewan - and this was captured just a few minutes’ drive East of the city.Lighting
This was full summer day-time lighting - which can present a problem using a lens which cannot accommodate filters (easily). Some post-processing would be required.Equipment
Nikon D800 with a Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. This was a handheld capture with no other equipment used for the exposure.Inspiration
Living on the prairies, I have learned to turn my attention to the skies to sense a great landscape photo. The flat landscape allows for unobstructed capture of amazing cloudscapes and storms. A wide-angle lens is a must! As soon as I turned onto this particular road, I could get a sense of the endlessness and vastness of the landscape, complemented by an amazing sky. This is the recipe for capturing this landscape and describing it visually to others though photographs.Editing
Yes. I am an advocate of the digital lab, and use it to bring out the best a photograph can be, or to add a little "art" in some situations which would allow it. In this photograph, I worked the curves to deal with the harsh afternoon light and bring out the right contrast in the cloud and road. I like to apply some sharpening to my images, especially in the foreground - in this case the road.In my camera bag
When going out on a landscape shoot, I will usually take the D800 (my only camera body at this point), and an assortment of lenses for landscape photography. Typically a 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and more recently a 35mm f/1.4. For portraits, my bag will contain quite a different range (I like prime lenses such as the 85mm f/1.4). I have a range of filters, mostly ND as well as two SB910 speedlights, several spare camera batteries fully charged and a packet of Duracells for my flashes. I have used flash to light the foreground in some landscape shots, but more typically rely on natural light and long exposures. I always bring a tripod.Feedback
Get an ultra-wide angle lens and head out to where you can capture an unobstructed view. Don't be afraid to frame as much sky as you think adds interest to the shot.
