Manarola at Night
Jan, 2015Views
456
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Top Shot Award 22
Legendary Award
Winner in HDR Architecture & Cities Photo Challenge
Winner in Bluelight Hour Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Peer Award
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 5Top 20 rank month 1
Categories
PRO+
IsraelOrta
February 23, 2015
I chose your photograph as the winner because of several factors. Bluehour light was a requirement, city and skylight, and superb composition.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Italian town called Manarola. It is the second smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns.Time
The time of day was around 20:00. In July this is the time the sun is setting and the town lights start switching on.Lighting
I used natural lighting. At this time of day there is still enough light for the sky and the sea to show as blue and for the vegetation on the hills to be visible.Equipment
I used my old Canon 450D camera, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens and tripod. I triggered the shots using a remote control.Inspiration
I wanted to have a good view at the colorful houses of the town, the lights, the sea, the boats and the surrounding hills. I found a perfect spot on the hill in front of the town. Of course it is a very well known spot, a lot of photographs of this town are taken from there. But even at the most popular spot you always have a chance to find your own perspective.Editing
While shooting this picture I took 3 different exposures using bracketing feature of the camera. During the post-processing I merged those 3 pictures into one using HDR software. However I tweaked the HDR settings to be very "gentle", so that it is hard to tell this photo is an HDR. My goal was to show the vegetation on the hills and the vivid colors of the houses, but not to make the lights and the sky too bright. I always shoot in RAW format, which leaves me the opportunity to find the perfect white balance during the post processing and to adjust contrast and saturation in better way.In my camera bag
The equipment I usually have in my bag is Canon 450D camera, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens, Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, Samyang 8mm f/3.5 HD Fisheye Lens, polarizing filters, tripod and remote control. It's always useful to have extra memory cards, flashlight, cleaning cloth for the lens etc.Feedback
Think about the lighting and find the right hour you want to shoot at. Find the right spot in advance. Arrive to the scene early, so you'd be able to set your equipment and make enough experimental shots to find the best composition before the time to shoot comes. Make sure you're comfortable during the photo session, bring right clothes for the weather, being cold or hot shortens your patience, and it takes a lot of patience to take a good picture. Make sure to try different exposures and apertures. If you're staying at the same place for several days, consider going home after the first session, examining the pictures and trying again on the next day, after you've drawn some conclusions and lessons from your first attempt. Good luck!
