Alanna at the Slough
Alanna near Humboldt Bay
Alanna near Humboldt Bay
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Jul, 2014Views
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Awards
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken near the Eureka Slough in Northern Humboldt County. I picked the location because I liked the contrast between the water, the mountains and the graffiti on the rail bridge.Time
It was late afternoon when I took this picture, the tide was going out and the light was muted. It was an excellent time to capture the various clouds in the sky.Lighting
I knew this was going to be an hdr photograph so I needed the lighting to be on the dark side so I would have plenty of room in post-processing to add more contrast and exposure to the final image.Equipment
This was shot with my Canon EOS60D with a 70-200mm wide angle lens. I love to use this particular lens because of the way it includes so much of the background, even when using a camera that utilizes a crop sensor.Inspiration
This photo was taken for my model Alanna. She is very creative and wanted to express herself and her views on homelessness. The train tracks in the background are literally a highway for transients making their way through Humboldt county. Not far from here are also many homeless camps. For the most part the homeless in this community are harassed and not allowed to create their homestead camps. There are some amazing volunteers in the area such as Betty Chinn who have raised funds and created showers and bathrooms and a place where homeless people can borrow clothes to find jobs. The most important aspect for the homeless in this area would be mental health services. Unfortunately the mental health services here are greatly lacking as in most places across the United States due to a lack funding and financial support.Editing
I love post processing! When I take a picture, I am trying to capture exactly what I see with my eyes. Although camera's are amazing and have improved greatly technologically, they still fail to capture what my eyes see. Post processing is where I can bring my vision to life. I strive to recreate what inspired me to take the photo in the first place. Through the HDR filter in Photoshop, I can control the sharpness, the exposure and the vibrancy, as well as create three dimensional depth. I am also a very emotional photographer and I like to convey emotion in all my images. I feel that photoshop can help me create the anger, melancholy and despair that I wanted to convey in this particular shot.In my camera bag
I don't usually carry a lot of equipment. Just my camera, a great lens, spare batteries, and memory cards. I rely heavily on natural lighting and post processing. I tend to travel to lots of remote sites that don't always have easy access and I can sometimes end up hiking quite a distance so it is important for me to travel light. I always bring a heavy duty tripod and shoes that can handle any terrain including water or the ocean.Feedback
My best advice is to have a good subject/model. I find they are the most inspiring aspect of my photography. Sure the landscape is important and carries 50% of the photo, but the model carries the rest. I spend a lot of time selecting, training and developing my models. The more we work together on creative projects the better the synergy and the images we create. It is definitely a team effort.
