Morning Sun
The sun breaking through the trees in Rhinefield, New Forest.
The sun breaking through the trees in Rhinefield, New Forest.
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May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I live near Portsmouth, about 45 minutes from the New Forest. It was Autumn and I decided to get up very early one Sunday morning when it was forecast to be a frosty morning and a sunny day. I had a rough idea of where in the forest to head for so I pointed the car toward Rhinefield, near Brockenhurst. It was barely light when I arrived and parked and it took much patience to capture the shot. Without knowing where my hoped-for sunbeam would settle I wandered fairly aimlessly, taking the occasional shot - a useful exercise in itself as I was still learning about my DSLR. Anyway, sometime around 10 a.m. there it was, picking out the rich autumn colours of the forest floor. It looked good on the camera, I hoped all the way home that it would look as good and with the clarity I wanted, when I transferred it onto the laptop screen. It did and is a photo that I'm still quite pleased with.Time
As explained above, it was early morning. The hours from just before sunrise until 10 a.m. are the best time of the day, anywhere and everywhere in the world.Lighting
The lighting for this photograph was totally in the lap of the gods. I sometimes compare photography to fishing, if only to emphasise the patience required at times. You go out fishing for carp and sometimes you may catch a tench or sometimes you will return home having caught absolutely nothing. Photography can be a bit like that. The lighting here was what I was hoping for - I got lucky.Equipment
I used my Canon EOS 400D at the time with an 18-125 mm Sigma lens. I didn't use a tripod on this occasion as I needed to react quite quickly to the location and the light as and when the shot appeared.Inspiration
I was really experimenting with different styles of photograph at the time and on this occasion I wanted the sun and the trees to work in tandem for me. I love sunbeams in photographs, whether it be as it appears in this shot or bolting through a small window to the interior of a gloomy factory building or into a building of worship. They really create atmosphere and, obviously, enhance colour.Editing
I think all I remember having to do with this shot was some minor straightening. My photographs tend to be about half a degree out horizontally.In my camera bag
My EOS 600D now, the Sigma 18-125 mm, Sigma 10-20 mm Wide Angle, 50 mm prime lens, mini tripod, lots of spare batteries and lots of 8 GB SD Cards - plus cleaning materials of course.Feedback
The real tips are, find an environment that offers variation in terms of trees, density of the canopy, colours, foreground (e.g. fallen trees) and then just try and be a bit smart about the weather conditions. A nice chilly night with the potential of a sunny start to the day should work.
