Grass
Feb, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was shot in Monterey, CA. I was there on business, but had the weekend to walkabout and leave work behind for a few hours.Time
I started out at the beach early in the morning to capture the sunrise. Well, sunrises on the west coast with the Pacific Ocean in the background aren't nearly as spectacular as sunsets...must be because of that whole earth east to west rotation thing. The light was still very good for walking about and taking a few shots here and there. I believe this shot was taken around cup of coffee #2 a.m.Lighting
Hint: Shooting grass is best done in day light. My night shots at this location really didn't turn out very well! Actually, the lighting off this shot worked out great. Sun was low on the horizon and the sky was bright enough to provide a bit of back lighting which provided some of the fine detail of the seeds.Equipment
I shot this with my old Canon 30D (I miss that camera...even with the dirty sensor) with a 24-105 f4.0L. Shot was taken wide open to get as shallow of a depth of field as I could muster and at 1/3200 at ISO 125.Inspiration
I'm always fascinated by perspective, which may be the driver to why I'm now trying my hand at macro photography. On that day, I really wanted to capture something at a "bugs eye view". I came across this patch of long grass on a knoll by the bay and thought that this could work. The bonus was that I didn't even have to get down on my belly to capture this shot as the foot path was low enough to merely kneel next to the grass.Editing
Post on this one was pretty simple. A little bump on the saturation and some curve adjustment. Sometimes you just don't have to mess much with mother nature!In my camera bag
"Like Mama says, 'simple is as simple does'." I'm pretty much a minimalist when it comes to going out to take some photos. If I can leave the bag at home, cool! When I do go out with my kit, it usually includes my Canon 5D Mk II with the 24-105mm attached. I also throw in the 70-200mm because I'm also lazy and having a full zoom range from 24-200mm is sweet! Last lens is my trusty 50mm F1.4 for those low light situations. Depending upon the time of day or if I'm taking portraits, I'll throw in one or two flashes with remotes.Feedback
Monterey, CA has a photo waiting around every corner. This shot was taken a couple years ago and I hope the drought has not destroyed the beautiful scenery there. Get up early, wear comfortable shoes, have a great cup of coffee, and get outside with your camera to enjoy what nature has provided. Lastly, imagine the shot from another point of view...perhaps a grasshopper.
