Strathmore-HDR-15-1-c_DxO
May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Taken in Strathmore, a suburb in Wellington, New Zealand, overlooking Moa Point, international airport and Lyall Bay.Time
This was taken in the early evening, around sunset. The sun is already behind the hills, thus lighting up the storm clouds from below.Lighting
I used no artificial lighting for this, just the natural light conditions. This is, however, a panorama of 15 (or so) images, each of which is a HDR image of 3 different exposures.Equipment
Canon EOS 6d M1, Sigma 15mm F2.8 diagonal fisheye (close to 180 degrees diagonal), Gitzo tripod and phone controlled remote releaseInspiration
This is a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time. I wanted to practice some more HDR shooting, and was then surprised by this massive cloud front moving in towards me. I tend not to plan a lot, since the weather here is less than reliable. We say, Wellington has 4 seasons in a day, usually more than once. Hence I take my inspiration on the spot rather than thinking about it.Editing
Yes, as mentioned, the panorama is stitched from 15 images. Each of them is made up from 3 individual shots at different exposures. Those have been combined to single HDR images in a software called Oloneo. Then I imported all 15 into Microsoft ICE to stitch the panorama. The result was then worked on in Photoshop. Main work in Photoshop was to straighten the horizon (removing 'steps'), making the waves consistent, working on overall contrast and adjusting the lighting and shadows.In my camera bag
Depending on what I go out to shoot. For storms I usually have a very long lens and one of my faster Canon 5d cameras, for night shots a tripod, one of my 6d cameras, short and wide lenses. For portraits any of the above cameras and medium long lenses (50mm prime, 70-200 f2.8 Canon, 24-105 f4 Canon)Feedback
Since such shots are weather depending, a good start would be to learn to know the location if possible. Also watch weather forecasts, tidal forecasts, wind/wave forecasts (there are plenty of apps available). Watch the weather itself - most of the time I see clouds and know right away there will be a 'light show' on. If it starts to look good, get to your location as fast as you can!
