FenceB&W
FenceB&W
FenceB&W
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Jan, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a small dirt track in the Rainton Meadows nature reserve, not far from where I live. It's a great place to find wildlife all year round and some good landscapes and views from the hills.Time
I took this photo on October 31st, 2014 at 2:43 PM. The sun was just above the treeline casting long shadows and beautifully golden light across the fields.Lighting
To the right of the frame was a line of bushes that had a small break in, allowing much more light through to hit this one spot of fencing. This caught my eye almost immediately. I tend to take a lot of my photos in the later hours of the day, especially when there is little cloud cover, as the light is much more dramatic and helps to highlight all the details of a scene that could easily be overlooked in flat lighting.Equipment
I had originally planned to mainly be photographing some wildlife in the nature reserve on the particular occasion so I only had one lens with me; Canon's EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II. I used my Canon EOS 1100D, which is actually the first DSLR I owned.Inspiration
I wouldn't say I was particularly inspired to take this photo. It's certainly not what I went out to shoot that day. Sometimes a good shot will just catch you by surprise and you have to be ready to take that opportunity.Editing
The post-processing on this image was fairly simple. Some clarity and contrast adjustments using the basic sliders in Lightroom. Then converting it to black and white, playing around with mix sliders till I was happy with the result.In my camera bag
First, I always pack my Canon EOS 7D body, can't very well take photos with just lenses. Next, my Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM, it's a great all round lens that works well for most situations, from landscapes to wildlife. If I'm going somewhere I know I won't be walking a lot I usually then pack everything else, just in case it's needed; Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 DC HSM and a Neewer TT860 flash. All this isn't too heavy and can comfortably be carried in my backpack for several hours at a time. However, when I need to be much more mobile, for example, when I recently went to Cyprus and went climbing down steep sandy hills and cliffs in 35-40°C heat to get to the beaches below I had to plan ahead much more. Taking just my 7D, Sigma 10-20mm lens, ND filter and a tripod in a lightweight backpack instead of my usual camera bag.Feedback
For this image, you don't have to be anywhere special, just seize the opportunity whenever one presents itself. Most of the time it won't work out but occasionally, it works perfectly. You can make everyday objects like fences look interesting in the right light from the right angle. Don't forget the power of some depth of field either. If this shot had been taken at a much narrower aperture and the whole image was in focus I don't think it would be as interesting. The foreground is just out of focus enough to draw the eye up to the focus point and the background is out of focus enough that you know what's there but it doesn't distract from the main subject, lying right on the lower third line of the frame. Also, don't settle for one version of an image if you like others too, I first processed this image in colour and was struggling to decide if I liked the colour or black and white version better. So, I just exported and posted both.
