Beyond the Bayou
Feb, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. On the pier located at the Gulf Islands National Seashore park that was revamped after hurricane Katrina.Time
This image came as a complete surprise for me. This was just a few minutes before sunset and I had to rush to get my gear down to this location after realizing this was going to be something special. It may look warm and inviting, but this was actually a very chilly evening and you can see the cold front approaching from the southwest.Lighting
I truly wanted to capture a mood with this image. I loved the way the un was being filtered by the approaching clouds and gave the higher elevation clouds some detail as well. Not overbearing, but just enough to paint the sky. There was enough sunlight to create the silhouettes that I absolutely love to shoot as well. Silhouettes are some of my favorite subject matter. I think the framing of the shot was was I was looking for.Equipment
I always shoot sony. I shoot with a sony A550. Did not use a flash but did use a orange filter for effect. It was awkward, but I shot this without a tripod as I did not have time to run up the hill and grab my tripod. (C'mon, you know it's happened to you too..lol)Inspiration
There has been a ton of reconstruction on the Mississippi gulf coast since Katrina. New Orleans (my hometown) usually gets most of the attention. I was traveling and working along the gulf coast and decided to take a journey through my old stomping grounds. I have lived here and in New Orleans most of my life. I fished that very bank to the right of the image for years as a child. Seeing this sunset, a new pier to take the image on and capturing a part of my life that still exists...I could not ask for a better moment.Editing
I have a process I follow with a lot of my images. I like to sharpen in photoshop just a tad prior to any other processing. Just love the image to "pop" a little better than the norm. Otherwise, a little dodge and burn to get the shadows just the way I like them.In my camera bag
Oh man, I'm like a gadget monster when it comes to my bag. I'm like a ton of other photographers out there and carry a lot of the same gear. Filters, batteries, lenses galore, SD cards, remote timer and trigger...the works. I even carry a Gopro just to document how I got the shot from time to time. Didn't have it on this one though. I ALWAYS carry a poncho and clip on umbrella for the camera though...always.Feedback
If you are ever in this part of the country, there are hundreds of sites to capture an amazing sunset like this one. State parks are a great place to start. There are also islands to visit right off the coast one quick boat ride away. I recommend the fall or winter months for high level clouds. Summer tends to have more of the "puffies" as I call them. Those are great for sunbeam sunsets. My advice for this part of the country, be prepared for rain and I do mean a lot of it. It can rain in Mississippi and Louisiana for five minutes and be clear the next twenty. This area is also prone to fog in the morning. So have your camera with you at all times! The sun burns it off quickly and you might miss that shot of a lifetime.
