still life
Jul, 2013Views
1925
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Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 22
Contest Finalist in Ships And Boats Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Explorer Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Exceptional Contrast
Jaw Dropping
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
I love this image, it's one of my own personal favorites, it was taken at Lake Alexandrina in the Tekapo area of New Zealands South Island, for me it's one of the most stunningly beautiful places in the world, it's also got World Heritage status for the sky as ther eis virtually no light pollution so you get magical star filled skys there and no need to worry about stray light.Time
this was an early one, just after 5am in the morning to get the 1st rays of light hitting the mountains at the back and was one of a number of shots that morning.Lighting
As I say the area has got virtually no light pollution so you get very true colours dancing around the landscap and the water etc, I was shot with no additional lighting or reflectors just as it happened.Equipment
It was shot on my Canon 50d with the 24-105L series lens with a ND2 grad filterInspiration
As I mentioned I love this area and keep going back there. I loved the position of the boat to the jetty both taking you out to the water and then the hills at the back just pushing you back into the image, it's one you can wader around for a while.Editing
I used Photoshop and NIK Colour Efex2 just to sharpen and pull our some detail in the grasses then added a tonal adjustment to the hills just to help them along. I then added a vignette to darken the edgesIn my camera bag
Camera - Canon 50D, Lenses Canon 24-105L, canon 50mm prime (love this wee lens) Tamron 10-24 and depending on what I'm shooting I may drag along my Sigma 50-500 which is a beast of a lens and gives a fantastic saturation to reds. Filters I use Cokin slot filters so I have a range of ND grats plus I'm playing with a variable ND at the moment, my trustry Polerising filter, shutter release, 5 in one reflector for those times where you want a little more light in the immediate foreground, spare batteries - always need spares!!! lens cleaning equipment and my speedlite flash gun.Feedback
Again it's get out, find the place and just be there, it's what was drummed into me by a number of fellow photographers and mentors. If you want nice light get out of bed, go camping and get out of bed early. Look for leading lines and shapes to help the viewer get in and around the image. If at first you don't get what you want, go back!
