Assisi Basilica San Francesco
May, 2012Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in Assisi Italy. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi.Time
It was around 1pm, in June. This time of year you either have harsh sun or rain.Lighting
I had no intention of taking this image. This was just one of those pictures that just presents itself to you.. In June its very hot, but this was just one of those days that was a perfect cloudy day.Equipment
I used a Nikon D50 with a Sigma 17-70 2.8. Love this lens. I spent a month in Italy, all over. and only use the tripod i lugged around a few times. Usually at night. This image was just the perfect lighting. 160th of a second, F11.Inspiration
I was just getting into panoramic shots at this time, spending a month in Italy put this to the test with all the available material to shoot. To this day i remember walking around the corner and this view just stood out at me. This place was built in the mid 1200's and its still such a picturesque location.. Gotta love the Italians. I shot almost 5000 images on that trip and this is still one of my favorite shotsEditing
This is a 5 shot panorama. I also took a single shot for later reference, but once i saw the wide view of this shot, I just had to run with it.. I ran NIK effects - Color effects using the Tonal Contrast preset as a start. I was going to photoshop out the guy cutting the grass, but I decided to leave him in there on this version.. To compile the Panorama i used AutoPano Pro. This is my go-to app for larger panorama shots. All in all there was not too much editing to this shot.In my camera bag
What i carried then is not much different to what i carry now.. I have upgraded to the Nikon D800. I keep a D300 as a backup. I am a big Sigma fan. I carry one nikon lens, the 50 1.8. But the others i carry are the Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 24-70 F28, the Sigma 70-200 F2.8, as well as the one that took this image the 17-70 F2.8. I carry a mini tripod by MeFoto and a SB800 flash.Feedback
Shoot reference images, it does not have to be super large, just Wide. This way you can look back on it to see the clouds, any moving objects. One thing i have learned. Shoot more than you think you need. you can't go back and shoot the same shot. without starting over. I would rather delete. than wish i had more.. One thing that i have learned, and its more of a basics thing.. Landscapes: F8 or higher. for most of my Italy shots I kept it at F11 - F13 unless I was shooting indoors or at night. Always have your camera. I don't mean carry your whole kit, but carry a camera. if anything use your phone to snap shots of a cool location. Oh... Biggest thing.. Never let the weather scare you from a shoot. This shot was after a missed rainy day, the clouds give this so much more character. Shoot the landscape (if your shooting panoramas handheld) Vertical and horizontal. This will give you more options to work with later on, and vertical gives you more height. When in doubt about a shot, SHOOT IT!!! You may find something at a later time in Post.
