Surfs Up
I must have some good karma. This place is notorious for being crowded and its pretty small, hence the need for a wide angle lens to make it look bigger. As goo...
Read more
I must have some good karma. This place is notorious for being crowded and its pretty small, hence the need for a wide angle lens to make it look bigger. As good fortunes go, this place was empty and Ellie and I had the run of it for hours before and after sunset. Not to mention the weather was as good as it gets.
Read less
Read less
Oct, 2013Views
1217
Likes
Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Deserts Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Exceptional Contrast
Jaw Dropping
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 2
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 6Top 20 rank week 5
Categories
PRO
Platinum
richgreene
October 13, 2014
Very cool. I stood in the same place about 10 months later under similar conditions -- with only three others there. In fact we saw people actually leaving because the sun was setting. Their loss our gain.
Platinum
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This is the Fire Wave, in Valley of Fire State Park, just an hour north of Las Vegas.Time
Around 5pm, about 1 hour before sunset.Lighting
The intention of going to this location was NOT to come away with this particular photo. What I wanted to capture was the sun setting and illuminating the sky with a brilliant pink and reddish light (you know, a photographers dream). But that didn't happen. I was conscious enough to set my camera up and grab a few shots before the sun went down, and this was the best one I took. The sun went behind the clouds and the sky never lit up. Had I not setup and taken a couple shots, this photo wouldn't exist.Equipment
I used a Canon 5D Mark I, Canon 17-40 f/4 L, a polarizer and tripod.Inspiration
I had seen images from Valley of Fire before, and this Fire Wave thing looked really cool. So a friend of mine, Ellie Stone and I headed out there and found that the park was amazing. It blew us away. I absolutely loved the colors in the rocks and wanted to capture the entirety of the landscape encompassing this feature. So I tried to shoot it as wide as I could to fit it all in.Editing
I didn't have to do much, a little contrast, some sharpening, and some saturation to bring out the colors in the rocks was all. Luckily it was pretty straighforward.In my camera bag
I usually always carry 2 camera bodies, one full frame (for landscapes) and one crop-frame (for wildlife). 3 lenses, a 17-40, a 70-200, and a 100-400. I always have a polarizer and a suite of Lee graduated neutral density filters. Lots of camera batteries, lens cloths, and memory cards. And I always carry my iPhone with me.Feedback
Shooting in balanced light is really pretty easy, if you're lucky enough to have balanced light. Most often we don't have balanced light. The sky is too light and foreground is too dark. So I ALWAYS bring filters, and a polarizer. You can never go wrong with the right filter. That being said. Always arrive early! The light might be better than you imagined. If we had gotten here just before sunset, it would have looked bad. We arrived early, explored, got comfortable with the scenery, and got some great shots in the best light.
