Cliff Watching
Jun, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken at the Cliffs of Moher which are located in the Burren region of County Clare, Ireland. This particular angle was taken at the left most side of the cliffs. I am standing on a cliff that is right next to this one which is protruding a bit more into the ocean.Time
This was a most perfect day for capturing Ireland. It was full of light rain, mist, and fog. I was delighted to find that the day had turned into such a mystical one. This image in particular was captured late afternoon. The majority of the tourists had flocked to their tour buses so only the most brave were out exploring the cliffs in the rain and fog.Lighting
Okay, I have to say that this particular day was GORGEOUS for lighting - for my style anyhow. The complete overcast with light bouncing off of the fog and mist left for beautiful lighting. It allowed me to edit the images with little to no effort and really pull out the mysterious feeling the day had left me with. The lighting you see in this image is all natural light and bounce light from off of the fog.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II with a pretty standard Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. This was taken handheld, no flash.Inspiration
The inspiration was simply: Ireland. I seriously could not have asked for a more delightful shooting experience than this day. With the rain and fog the masses of tourists had dwindled down to only a fraction of what it typically would be. I was standing there staring at the other end of the cliffs when I saw this young lady walking towards the edge of one of the cliffs. I watched her gently walk over to the edge, then methodically crouch down. We made eye contact, and I could not resist capturing her. The fog that is hanging over the ocean in the space beyond her not only frames her and her moment with the cliffs but also the feeling of the entire moment most excellently.Editing
The post-processing that I did was very little. I made sure to change my settings in camera so that I was shooting all of my images that day to match the fog. The coloring of the image is almost the same as when it was taken - it was a very wet day so there were very little vibrant colors that hung out. I cropped in camera, and the rest is history.In my camera bag
I like to keep it simple. I carry around my trusty Canon and typically a prime lens to go along with it. I had chosen my telephoto lens this day because I wanted to make sure that I was able to capture the distance and depth of the cliffs without running around the entire area like a mad woman.Feedback
This image would not have been taken if I had been too afraid to capture this young lady while she was looking right at me - to be honest, I almost chickened out. However, I would have been regretting not taking the image every day after that if I had not. It truly has become the image that almost entirely defines my entire visit to Ireland. When it comes to capturing something similar - simplicity is key. Understand the beauty of what negative space can do for your image, and frame the subject beautifully within it all. When I am able to I crop in camera so that I know at that time what my image should turn out to be. I had one shot with this, as soon as she realized I was taking a photo of her, she looked the other way. If I had not had the chutzpah to take the shot when I did this image would have never existed.
