Fort Pickens Tunnel
Tunnel inside Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, FL
Tunnel inside Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, FL
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Nov, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken at Fort Pickens, the historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida.Time
I was actually up in Pensacola for work at the time. I am a full time professional drummer actually and we had a weekend of shows up in North Florida. Whenever we travel I try to take in the sights as much as possible. I also always travel with my camera gear just in case I get some free time to shoot. I heard about this amazing location and decided to take a tour. Half way through the day it started to rain like crazy, so my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) and I took shelter in one of the fort's corridors. We started to explore this inside areas on our own and found a small side tunnel that had this creepy/scary feel to it. The tunnel itself was actually only about 4 feet high and seemed to go on forever. at the far end you could see a small light. We followed it to the end and came to a split which led to two more tunnels. It was really cool and a bit scary at the same time. When I crawled down to this light I saw a composition that I felt I just had to capture. This image was taken in June of 2014 around 4pm.Lighting
This was a very dark tunnel with only one single light illuminating the path. I was wanted to capture the light in a way that showed just how ominous the scene was. So I left my additional lighting in the bag and took a single long exposure. It did a great job of capturing just how the light moved along the dark bricks and quickly went to complete darkness.Equipment
At the time I was shooting with a Canon 60D and I used my Canon 10-22mm wide angle lens. I had the camera mounted on my Vanguard Atlas Pro tripod which is very versatile. The tripod allowed me to get low to the ground and take a shot looking up, making it seem larger than it really is. No flash used for this image.Inspiration
I had been walking around the ruins of the fort all afternoon taking various shots outside. When we found ourselves crouched inside this dark tunnel it really made you think about the people who had been there before you and what their lives were like. It was very moving being down in a space like that and I wanted to take an image that somehow elicited the same feeling I had by being there. When I look back at the image I still remember that feeling of being in that space. I like images that elicit those types of feelings.Editing
There was minimal post processing done on this image really. This was a long exposure shot and only had a minute to set up tripod and get the composition I liked so I took a 13 second exposure at F11 and ISO 100. In Lightroom I had to lower the highlights as the light itself was overexposed, but the fall off was so drastic I had to open up the shadows just a bit as well. A little bump of clarity to show the texture in the brick as well as a little desaturation I believe to give it a colder and darker feel, which was the way I was seeing it with my naked eye.In my camera bag
Currently I travel packed with my trusty Canon 70D body and a variety of lenses. My work horse lens is my Canon 10-22mm ultra wide angle lens. I do a lot of real estate photography so this is a must have. For just about everything else I have my Canon 24-70 F2.8 L strapped to my camera. That is my baby! The L series Canon lenses are just amazing. Although I did just recently purchase the Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 with VC which is a lens I've wanted to get for a long time. It is my first lens with image stabilization and wow is it a game changer! I am looking forward to using that more often. And I always keep my Canon 50mm F1.8 prime with me since it's so small, so light, and doesn't take up much room. In addition to the lenses I always keep a Yongnuo flash or two as well as a few Yongnuo wireless triggers. They are super cheap and work great! For accessories I have a Tiffen Variable ND filter, a polarizing filter, and a slew of memory cards, extra camera battery and a bunch of AA and AAA batteries in case. Oh, and I cannot forget my Black Rapid camera strap my wife got me as a birthday present. One of the best things in my camera bad. Clips over the shoulder and hangs at your side. Everyone should have one of those!Feedback
I always say that you can find a good shot anywhere, you just have to find it. Some are easier than others of course. In this case when I was in that tunnel I just knew I had to shoot that image. In other situations you really have to work a scene. There have been times where I have moved my camera and composition 40 times before I found that perfect shot. It doesn't always happen quickly. As much as I enjoy finding that perfect moment and catching it in one shot, I also find a sense of joy and accomplishment from working a scene over and over to get that perfect shot. Then when I look back I recall just how much effort I put into it and that is even more rewarding. Patience is a virtue in photography. Oh, and make sure you just keep a tripod in your trunk at all times. You never know when you are going to need it:)
