Granite Island
Sunset at Watson Lake in Prescott, Arizona
Sunset at Watson Lake in Prescott, Arizona
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Jul, 2013Views
3150
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Rock Formations Photo Contest
People's Choice in Reflections In Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Reflections In Nature Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Exceptional Contrast
Genius
Jaw Dropping
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
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PRO+
Platinum
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claudia_lothering_1704
April 29, 2015
An absolute outstanding picture - the shapes are amazing and so are the colours. Congratulations
JasonTrikes
September 08, 2015
I see a person with their back facing you in this photograph. Look at the second rock to the right from the left side. (not including the rock sticking out on the far left) It looks as a leg and the person is bent over forward. Very nice photograph.
PRO
SunshineLadyFox
October 12, 2015
I love the balance of the subject with the reflections in the water. Very nice.
PRO+
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
A summer sunset on Watson Lake in Prescott, ArizonaTime
I live nearby and visit this location several times at sunset. This particular sunset, the water level, clouds, wind, and warm sunset light all came together for a nice photo. I had previously taken shots from here before, but these shots were not what I pictured in my mind as the shot I wanted. This afternoon the variables all came together and I was able to capture the image I envisioned.Lighting
I knew I wanted warm sunset light on the reddish-brown granite rock outcropping. With the winds from recent storm activity stirring up dust in the air, the sunset light was a nice warm colorEquipment
I used a tripod with a wide angle lens. Nikon D7000 and Sigma 10-20mm. I set up as close as I could to the rock formation and got down close to the water level to accentuate the large formation and fill the bottom of the frame with the reflection.Inspiration
Watson Lake is a very inspiring place to shoot. The rock outcroppings and water make for great compositions. This rock formation is isolated from the surrounding rocks and begs to be photographed.Editing
I know I wanted a long exposure to help mellow out the water surface ripples. Since I was on a tripod, I shot this image at a low ISO and small aperture to increase the shutter speed. I also took bracketed exposure images to help increase the long exposure look. I processed the bracketed images using Photomatix. I was not happy with how the glowing rock face looked, so I also processed one of the bracketed shots in photoshop to get the lit rock face looking the way I wanted. I layered the two images in photoshop and masked in the individual shot in places where the hdr image did not look the way I liked. I also lowered the exposure some on just the background rocks by using a curves layer. I also added a little glow to the water by masking in a little bit of a second layer with an overlay blend mode applied.In my camera bag
I normally just carry my camera, a wide angle lens and a zoom lense. This covers a 35mm equivalent range of 14-300mm. I also always have a microfiber cloth to clean water spots off the lens, as needed. There is a spare battery in the bag, extra sdcards, and a 10 stop ND filter for extra long exposures.Feedback
Patience is the key, especially with lake shots. If your looking for a more glassy surface you need to wait for low winds. There also has to be decent clouds in the sky and the sun has to be in the right location. The water levels also change during different seasons and change from year to year. So finally, all these elements have to come together for the particular shot you are after, which takes some planning and a lot of patience.
