In his image
I took this photo in Chapada Brazil and the rays needed something special as you can see
I took this photo in Chapada Brazil and the rays needed something special as you can see
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May, 2015Views
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Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
2020 Choice Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Peer Award
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RonaldWayne
May 22, 2015
Thank you for your comment. I am still working on making it different/better, so I'll see what is possible.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, Brazil, located 62 km from the city of Cuiaba, the capital of Mato Grosso State. Chapada means "steep cliffs". And as you can see, the vistas from top of the mesa where the national park sits are endless. What you see here are farmlands of Brazil. I took several other photos from different locations in the park and all were captivating and luring. And each one draws you into the horizon.Time
This day of shooting was electrifying because the weather was so calm on the 4th of December, 2014 (summer in Brazil). You know the feeling you have when the weather cooperates, and the vistas are endless, and the clouds were perfect, so shooting the shot was easy. It's the kind of vista that draws you in and don't want to leave.Lighting
The lighting on this day was as good as it could get, so I didn't use any filters or have to worry about shadows and it was taken around noon so the sun was briefly behind the clouds as they slowly moved across the sky.Equipment
All the shots taken were with a Sony A7 using the standard kit lens 28-70. Of course I took multiple shots with different settings just to experiment. This shot was using f6.7 ISO 800 Shutter 1/8000 and used the aperture priority mode. An unusual set of settings, but I was experimenting with this camera to see what the differences were in post processing. I really think any setting that I had used would have produced great results, as long as the exposure was good! '-) No other equipment was used.Inspiration
While my wife and I were in Cuiaba, we were visiting 10 friends and exploring different parts of the state. Everything from the Pantanal, with swamp, rivers with alligators and piranha, to the city of Cuiaba and surrounding cities, to a birthday party, to the Chapada. Each photo I took had a certain energy. The Chapada photos were all unique and this shot was just one more of some beautiful vistas. At the time, I had no idea how I would process this shot to make it different, but there were some other photos taken at the restaurant a few yards from where I took this shot. One was a statue of Jesus, and I tried to use this background with the Jesus statue in the foreground, which looked like a typical tourist photo. Nothing special, right?, Except when I got to post processing and that's where ideas on how to make this shot different came in...Editing
All the photos required some post processing. This photo made me stop and think, "What do I need to do to make this unique?" I started processing it and nothing seemed to click until I started using an HDR software called Photomatrix. First, I noticed the rays of sun very faintly showing through the clouds, illuminating the land underneath. I normally don't use HDR in a dramatic way but the more I pushed the settings the more the contrast of the rays stood out. Wow, what would the rays need? Then I remembered the Jesus statue I had taken and took it over to photoshop and removed the background, softened the edges of Jesus and used some blending options to make it look ghostly. It took me several days of playing around with settings to end with this final version. After posting this photo and receiving more comments and awards on it than any of my other photos, I realized that linking the feeling of a photograph with an iconic image is powerful. It is filled with emotion. And people react to the feeling. That's all I can say! There are other post-processing software I use more than photomatrix. I of course use photoshop, since I shoot all my photos in RAW, then make tweeks, then use Topaz labs software for some photos that I want a certain effect or look. Now I use a lot of Capture One processing with photos which really helps bring the element of "feeling" into a photo. For me that's the key!In my camera bag
Normally, I don't carry a lot of equipment, especially when I'm traveling. I have some other lenses, like a Sony 35mm prime, and a Sony 50mm prime for portrait shots, etc. Some ND filters, and a tripod, and in rare cases I take a second camera, Sony A7 ii. or a simple point and shoot. I do on occasion, take a Rotolight Neo2 and AEOS when I think lighting is an issue...but for travel I keep it basic.Feedback
In my opinion and experience, an expensive camera isn't always necessary to take photos like the ones you see in my collection. The cameras on a smart phone now are so good for many shots. It's more about the composition, and the subject. I'm by far, no expert on photography. What I do most of the time is look for the best composition and place the subject on the grid of the rule of thirds (or close to it), and then get creative in post processing. I always ask myself, "What does this photo make me feel." Does it look like a "tourist" photo, meaning that if I showed someone a photo, the person looking at it would say, "wow, that's cool, how did you do that?"...rather than a response like, "Can you see the deer...that spot in the photo so small..."Oh that deer!"
