Avenue of the Giants
Jan, 2015Views
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Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this in Eureka, California. My mom and I were on a road trip, and decided to take a pit stop at the Avenue of the Giants, a forest path you can explore the redwoods through. It is still one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been!Time
This is still one of my favorite images I've taken, and I've had lost more experience with photography since then. I still remember how antsy we were getting due to being trapped in a car all day, and thought a little hiking trail was just what the doctor ordered. It was taken around high noon, as the birds were still chirping away and the breeze through the trees made for some wonderful background music as I was clicking away on my shutter.Lighting
Overall, the goal of this photograph was to take advantage of the gorgeous natural light. I really wanted to emphasize the spots of sunlight that travel through the trees branches and meet the ground onto the trail. I was also very pleased with the way further into the trail was hit with more light than parts of the trail closest to the viewer, luring you into traveling deeper into the forest.Equipment
This picture was shot with a Nikon D3200 camera, accompanied by a 18-55mm lens.Inspiration
The serenity around me was incredible. Despite all the people traveling back and forth on the path, all you could hear were birds chirping, and trees rustling with the passing breeze. This place had such a hold over your mind to just be at peace, and listen, I knew I had to capture it forever.Editing
I really love the simplicity and realness of a raw photograph, so not much post-processing was involved. I had realized my shutter speed was a little off when shooting, (again, this was when my experience with photography was minimal) so I lightened the picture a touch to bring out that natural sunlight.In my camera bag
A tripod is always a given. No matter where I'm going I always pack a tripod, as I am constantly experimenting with the creative effect a long shutter can hold, which is impossible to accomplish without a tripod. I always have my 18-55mm lens, and my pride and joy, my 70-300mm telephoto lens, which holds incredible detail for scenes so far away.Feedback
Don't be afraid to get down and dirty with landscape shots. I took multiple pictures through out this forest, and sometimes I was laying flat on my stomach to get a worm's eye view, others times I was walking through thick foliage to get a close up of a fern leaf delicately exposed in the sunlight. Dress comfortably, in clothes you don't mind getting dirty, because you never know what you will need to do in order to get that perfect shot. I'd also recommend a fast shutter. The trees branches were swaying in the wind, but using a fast shutter allowed me to get lots of detail, while avoiding a blurred scene.
