Cloudy Day
May, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took it near a field owned by a riding club, which was very huge and rambling. To get there I had to walk through a tiny forest and through bushes and fields of stinging nettles, so it was quite difficult to approach the field.Time
It was in the later afternoon on a very hot summer day. It was getting dark on my way to the spot, so I had to hurry if I still wanted to take any photos. When I finally arrived the clouds were nearly above me.Lighting
I am not a big fan of landscape photos where the sky is totally clear. I prefer those, where the clouds are quite dramatically looking. These kind of photos create a special, stern atmosphere with a very strong contrast, making the picture look lively and interesting. I decided to wait until the clouds were getting bigger / darker to make sure the atmosphere will be just like I described.Equipment
That time I hadn't much equipment. Neither a tripod nor any special lenses. I used my old Canon 300d with the standard 18-55mm lense. But I used a polarisation-filter to make the clouds more visible and for increasing the contrast.Inspiration
I wanted to create a dramatic atmosphere, since I have seen many stunning photos of stormy days on Viewbug. Unlike clear days with perfect weather I find these darker atmospheres much more interesting, and that's what I wanted to capture. It also was one of my first weeks with a DSLR so I was very motivated to make a good shot that day.Editing
I developed the photo in camera RAW, trying to make the contrast as high as possible, but without trying to destroy the structure or make it look unreal. I hadn't that much experience with camera RAW that time, so it took me a while to create the image that I wanted. But it was worth the time and I got one of my first and favourite photos.In my camera bag
Meanwhile my whole equipment had changed. Now I use a Canon 600d. I always carry two lenses with me: a sigma lense with 17-55mm and f 2.8 for landscapes or darker sceneries, and a canon 75-300 III for special angles or other objects in the distance. Furthermore I always have a polarisation filter and a flashlight from canon with me. I also carry always a few surrogate-battery's with me, since my camera ran out of energy at the beginning of a trip that actually should take time for the whole day. My tripod is only then with me when I really planned on doing shots with it.Feedback
I always try to go out on days which are a little bit cloudy. Try to avoid days where the sky is completely grey, a few clouds are mostly enough to create contrast pictures with high contrasts. Also you can try to place the horizon in the upper or lower third of the picture, it will improve the quality of your photos immediately! You can also do this with remarkable objects in the landscape (for example the sun at dawn or any other object). Using a polarisation filter can make photos of clouds better, since the structure of the clouds gets more visible.
