Azure Window - Dwejra, Gozo
Jul, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the small island of Gozo. This location attracts thousands of tourists and locals every year. Gozo makes part of the Maltese archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.Time
Sunset, that day was around 18:30. I arrived a bit earlier to set up my equipment and do some test shots regarding the shutter speed. I had 2 ND8 filters and kept ISO to 100 and reduced the aperture to the limit. It is not the ideal setting as I knew I would lose some sharpness at that aperture but I wanted to get a silk effect of the water.Lighting
The sun sets just by this iconic landmark. I wanted to capture the dying sun light lighting up the rocks. It was a day in March or April when the sun was not extremely bright and there were few clouds to help diffuse the light even more.Equipment
This was shot using a Canon 450D armed with a 15-85mm lense. I used 2 ND8 filters to get a long exposure and smooth effect of the sea. To minimise blur I used a cable release and set the mirror lockup on. Obviously this shot was taken using a tripod in order to allow an exposure of a few seconds.Inspiration
This place has been photographed millions of times. I wanted this particular shot as I wanted to have a slightly different angle than most. I would have preferred a wider angle but I do not own a full frame and my widest lense at that time was the 15mm. I chose sunset to add that something extra to the shot.Editing
Being a landscape and the considering the high dynamic range between the sky and land I had to combine two exposures. It was then some playing around with levels and curves to add more contrast. Finally some sharpening on the rocks.In my camera bag
I have no problem in choosing the body to take ... I only possess the 70D. The 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 kit lense is my general use lense but I often take with me the 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 for landscapes. The 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 also has it's special place in my bag. For specific shoots I have the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8, the Canon 50mm f1.4 and the Macro 100mm f2.8. Sadly neither the 450D nor the 15-85mm lense that I took the above photo are in operation any longer ...Feedback
Well, planning ahead and visiting the place before the shoot would help in making easier to determine the best location and be aware of the surroundings. Also make sure that you have a sturdy tripod that can withstand safely the weight of your equipment and any wind that might be present. I learnt the hard way as this shot was the last one taken by the 450D and 15-85mm lense. One minute I was taking the photo, the next I saw my gear disappearing under the cliff. Luckily the water was not deep and I recovered the gear and managed to download the photos on my card. But that was the last time that the 450D worked. The lense survived the crash without problems but the water left stains on the glass making it not worth repairing! This makes this photo my most expensive photo till now!
