Lonely Tree
Aug, 2013Views
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texaaronpueschel
November 06, 2013
So good, it is almost a painting. Artistic. I dream of these shots.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This picture is taken on Dartmoor, Devon, UK. (I don't have specific co-ordinates unforunately, may be able to update location at another time)Time
It was around mid afternoon (1-2pm) when it was taken, it was quite windy, what with the landscape been so sheer and open. As you can see it was also quite cloudy. But, not a bleak cloud cover, almost creating an illusion of it being nearly coming up to sunset.Lighting
The lighting is all natural. The sun was just right above but slightly behind me (from what I remember, I could be wrong though). The clouds just picked up the light, making the depth in the clouds.Equipment
I used my Canon 400D with basic kit lens (18-55mm 3.5-5.6 II) I usually use a tripod, but for this one it was all handheld, since my tripod had broken just a few days beforehand.Inspiration
I had gone out for a walk on the Moors with my father, his girlfriend and her children. As always I took my camera. My dad was travelling round to find stone circles on the Moors, I saw this wind stunted tree and literally just had to take it. As I loved the way it appeared to be the only tree for miles around. The little puddle/stream next to it also drew my attention, so, I tried to make it a major feature of the picture by walking round till it looked just as I wanted.Editing
I took three versions of the picture so that I could merge it into HDR Photomatix Pro. As I knew that it could pick up the depth far better than a normal picture. I was a little disappointed that I overexposed a couple of bits in the picture. But, that's just me being picky as it isn't so noticable as to destroy the picture. Upon setting the picture as I desired I increased sharpness and upped contrast just a little bit (I don't like over processing pictures) then the completed image is as seen.In my camera bag
I always carry my Canon 400D as I like the pixel amount compared to my other camera. However, I often carry my Canon 1D mark II as the shooting speed and ISO capability is far greater than the 400D. I always carry the 18-55mm lens with my for the 400D and I also carry a 75-300mm 4-5.6 III which I use on both cameras. I also carry my magnesium alloy tripod. Further to this I often carry 3 external flashes, my Rogue Gels coloured gels and few other filters and such.Feedback
My advice would be, careful of the exposure. When using natural light in this way it's easy to overexpose or underexpose in areas of a picture. My general idea is to work out what the exposure needed for the brightest and darkest areas in a picture then go in the middle of them. Logical, but easy to bypass in thinking.
