Summer at the Lake
Aug, 2014Views
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
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Top Choice
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Great Find
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Magnificent Capture
Emotions
Happy
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Behind The Lens
Location
This Photo was taken so close to my home, that I'm a little bit ashamed that I never had been to this place before. It was a pure and sudden decision to go down a road that I never been to before in the eight years I lived in Sweden. I didn't even take my camera with as I parked the car at the parking lot and started the walk down the road through the forest. But when I was met by this view I hurried back to the car for my tripod, camera, and various lenses, just hoping this magnificent was still there when I got back. And it was luckily, So the scene was the Östra Ringsjön in Skåne County in the Southern part of Sweden near a small community call Ängsbyn. I am sure there will be some magnificent Winter scenes later on.Time
The Photo was taken on a late Sunday afternoon in the period between 4:30 and 6:30. I was trying all sorts of angles and cropping of the scene right there on the spot. As you can see there wasn't that much Wind and it was so very quiet.Lighting
The lighting wasn't difficult at all. Mother nature took care of it all. It was mostly a matter of waiting for some direct sunlight or hoping for a cloud to pass in front of the sun. So all natural lighting and a lot of patience.Equipment
For this shot I used my Nikon D3. Yes my good old Work horse. My Manfrotto tripod is the thing that never leaves the trunk of my car except for being taken out to support me on a shoot like this. Because I didn't want to go back to the car a second time to pick up the right lens, I took my Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8 and, the Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 and my Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8. For this shot I used the Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 at 14mm.Inspiration
A direct inspirational source I can't say there was. This was a sudden decision to go Down a road I'd never been before, seeing a spectacular view and about being in the mood that day to go and shoot some Photos. And then a lot of luck, because the scene could have been different on non existing any other day I would have gone there. In landscape and nnaure photography I have this clear idea that you have to be Lucky to get a good shot. Unless you want to be there 24/7/365 waiting for the perfect scene. Most people don't have that luxury of time.Editing
The shot was composed from eight Photos taken at the same aperture and various shutter speeds. For this Photo the aperture was set to f22 and the shutter speeds ranged from 1/100 sec to 1/15 sec. Just to get as much detail as possible in the highlights and the shadows. After that it was all layered as a HDR file in Photoshop CC using the Nik Software and saved as a TIFF file. The TIFF file was taken into Capture One and No filters were used, only layered. And as with all other Photos I am always recording in RAW.In my camera bag
Since my bag is with me all the time I am taking most of the gear. Nikon D3 and older Nikon D2x, plus lenses all Nikkor like 14-24mm f2.8, 28-70mm f2.8 (I'd never leave home without that one), 70-200mm f2.8, 85mm f2.8, 60mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and the 300mm f2.8. Then of course remote release, tripod and mono pod......because you just never know what to encounter. Not to mention lots of memory Cards.Feedback
Explore, explore and then explore some more. And experiment if you're uncertain how to reach the desired result. I have used the camera in my smart phone to take a snap on occasions where I don't have my gear with me (that's when I'm out on my road bike exercising) just in order to remember a place or a scene that I want to go back to with my proper camera at a time when I feel the conditions are right. I have in that way just been using the smart phone as a notepad for future projects. One of the resulting photos is the one of the hay rolls in the sunset also on my ViewBug page. So patience is another skill to perfect. You don't become an expert over night, but knowing your equipment well, making notes of places to explore and then patience is probably some good steps in the right direction.
