That Tree One Summer
I love shooting into the sun. If you stand in a particular place at certain time of day, ordinary things become something quite different...
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I love shooting into the sun. If you stand in a particular place at certain time of day, ordinary things become something quite different
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Aug, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Sutton lane near Chesterfield is bordered on both sides by fields. On the westerly side there's a field which sweeps up and at it's peak sits this tree Googlemaps - http://tinyurl.com/ldy23qoTime
Serendipitously, this was taken a year ago this very day on 12th of November 2013. It was around three in the afternoon on what had been a notably bright and clear day for the time of year as the sun started to lay low in the sky the familiar long shadows started to crawl across the ground.Lighting
The low sun in combination with the time of year was creating amazingly long shadows. Positioning the tree between myself and the sun emphasized the silhouette of the tree while at the same time creating strong highlights on the grass. The field had been ploughed a little earlier in the year and the grass was still sparse which helped add contrast between the dark soil and bright blades of new growth.Equipment
I was travelling light on this day with just my D7000 and Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 DC HSM. It was taken at 10mm, f8, 1/320 at an iso of 100.Inspiration
It was luck. I had been for a drive out with to Sutton Scarsdale hall to grab a few shots, nothing inspiring was happening so I left. Five minutes down the road and I cried out to my better half to stop the car. I had noticed the tree with it's long shadow sweeping away down the hill. The road was not the safest so she had to find somewhere a little way down the road to park. I burst from the car, camera in hand and started to jog up the hill. Asthma be damned. Wheezing, I arrived at an opening in the hedgerow and was able to make my way into the field and instinctively moved beneath the shadow.Editing
In Lightroom I cropped to make the composition stronger. There was some really nice colours being thrown off into the sky as the sun went down but for this particular one I wanted to play on the leading lines of the shadow and B&W heightened this to my eye. I played with the Highlights and Shadows to lift the grass a little and boost the contrast. Also I removed some power lines running in the background, I didn't mind them too much but ultimately a distraction.In my camera bag
For the most part, squeezed into my tiny bag you can find... Nikon D7000 Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 DC HSM Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 DG HSM Nikon 50mm f1.8 D Lee Big Stopper and other assorted ND filters An extension Tube Yongnuo 560III and a pair of RF603 triggers A disposable Poncho and Emergency light weight 1 person tent... the boy scout in me says one day I may get caught in a storm !!Feedback
My shot wasn't planned but something like this could be easily reproduced with a little scouting and weather watching. Finding a tree that stands alone shouldn't be a problem. However knowing where the sun goes down in relation to the tree will be important so you can predict what will be in your shot. Remember, the shadow of the tree will dictate which direction your lens will be pointing ! We can remove things in post but it's best to start with an image as free of unwanted elements as possible. There are plenty of online tools and apps that can show us not only sunset times but also the position of the sun in relation to our subject. Making use of these (often free) tools can save you a wasted journey. Here's one where the desktop version is free to use http://photoephemeris.com/tpe-for-desktop
