Sunset at Discovery Bay Reservoir, Hong Kong
Aug, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at Discovery Bay where I used to live. Geographically, Discovery Bay is located on Lantau Island, which is a very nice place to have hiking and explore great scenery of Hong Kong. Although I have moved out quite long time ago, I sometimes go back and explore new places for photos.Time
It was afternoon, around 6 pm, in August 2014. I arrived the place about 2 hours before sunset and walked around the reservoir to find the best spot. It was a very sunny and hot day. The whole place was very quiet and really made me enjoyed the time during the journey.Lighting
I like the light during sunset and I always love to share sunset photos with people. On that day, I made quite a number of shots and I decided to shoot at this angle to capture both the flowers, the mountain, and the sky. As the lighting environment changes quickly during sunset, so I kept on shooting until the sun was completely set. I chose this shot as the sun was shielded by the clouds, and the soften sunlight helped to make the photo more vibrant and also give good texture to the clouds.Equipment
I took this photo with a Pentax K5-IIs, DA 12-24 mm lens, a tripod, and a hand-held graduated filter.Inspiration
I was originally thinking to capture mountains and sky. After a few shots, I realized that whole picture was very static. So I walked around and tried to see if there was anything interesting to be captured. Then I found those flowers being blown by wind. I decided to capture the flowers, together with the mountains, the water, and the sky. I lowered the shutter speed to 1/20, so the movement of flowers and clouds looked more dramatic and interesting.Editing
Yes, I did post-processing. I used Lightroom for the process. As there were some backlighting issues, so I used the software to help me recover the exposure of the flowers. I also slightly adjusted the white balance of the photo to get a warmer color. Other adjustments include clarity, vibrance, and tone curve.In my camera bag
Pentax K5-IIs is my major camera, usually with a wide-angle lens (such as DA12-24 mm/DA*16-50 mm) attached to it. I also have a prime lens, like DA 35 mm macro, in my bag. Tripod is a must to me, particularly when I need to lower shutter speed to get more interesting photos. Others include a graduated filter and a ND8 filter. Combinations of these equipment give me plenty of options to deal with different scenarios.Feedback
I checked the weather conditions and sunset time of the place and arrive there 2 hours before. When I arrived the reservoir, I found the sky was a bit hazy and not as clear as I was expected. But still, I found that place really worth for photos. So I started to take photos, looked for the right angle, and waited for sunset. When the sun started to go down, wind started to blow and cleared the sky. It was the wind which brought dynamics to this photo and cleared my frustration. Even with good planning ahead, unanticipated things can make you feel frustrated. So be happy and be optimistic all the time, they make your photography journey always be enjoyable!
