St John's Church Reflection
Best in Show - 2014 St. Joseph's Hospital Photo Competition.
Best in Show - 2014 St. Joseph's Hospital Photo Competition.
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Nov, 2013Views
1539
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Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Towns and Villages Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Exceptional Contrast
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo is of St. John's Church in Cold Spring Harbor New York which is on Long Island. Just across the road from this church is the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where DNA was discovered. Also, if you're a Billy Joel fan it would be interesting to note that the house that is featured on the cover of his "Glass Houses" album is situated directly above the church on the hill above these trees.Time
I took this photo around 10 -11 am on November 4th. Peak foliage on Long Island is around the last week of October and the first week of November.Lighting
It rained the night before so the leaves had an added saturation "pop" because they were still wet. The morning light has to climb over a high treed hill and casts a shadow horizontally across this entire scene. Therefore, I had to wait until fairly late in the morning to avoid any shadow across the composition.Equipment
I used a Canon 5D MK II with a Canon 24-105mm f/4 lens. The camera was mounted on a Giotto tripod and a shutter release was used. I believe I used my B&W polarizer on this shot.Inspiration
Several years ago I saw a photo of this little church in a local publication. I really liked the reflection and thought that photo, which was taken in mid-summer, would be much nicer if composed with the reflection in Autumn.Editing
This photo was shot in RAW and post-processing was done in Photo Shop C5. Levels adjustments, vibrance adjustment, and shadow/highlight tools were used.In my camera bag
These days I have a Canon 5D SR and a Canon 7D as my back-up body. I have all Canon lenses 16-35mm f/2.8, 24-105mm f/4, 70-200mm f/2.8, 100mm 2.8 macro and a 40mm f/2.8 lens. I have 3 Giotto tripods of various sizes, a Tiffen adjustable Neutral Density filter, 33 Schneider glass filters some of which are graduated ND filters 1,2,3,4,and 5 stops as well as color glass filter which I use sparingly. I always have a Canon wired shutter release as well as a remote release (for selfies). I have a Tamron 2X teleconverter and a set of Kenco extension tubes. I always have a compass in my bag and a couple of rubber bands for the removal of stubborn UV filters. I use three different camera bags Case Logic, Think Tank and a small Canon bag that I will pack light and use for hikes.Feedback
This location was fairly local for therefore I was able to scout the area and wait for optimal conditions. When you are traveling its essential to do some research before you go. Knowing ahead of time if a particular location is a morning or afternoon shot, or sunrise or sunset is obviously very important for nature/landscape shots. Sometimes you "bump" into a prime location by accident. Having a compass in your bag will help you decide whether to stick around until late afternoon or comeback in the morning. Summer is the painful when it comes to sunrise and sunset photography. Painful because the sun is rising in the neighborhood of 5:00 am and it sets around 8:30 pm. If you are driving any distance from where you are staying while visiting the area you will suffer a serious lack of sleep. A word to the wise; any iconic scene will be crowded with tourist at sunset every night. Come back to the same place at sunrise and you will probably have the place to yourself.
