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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken off the back country roads in southwestern Oklahoma. During the summer, the fields all over the Oklahoma countryside are scattered with hay bales.Time
This was just as the sun was setting. All day I had hoped that there would be good clouds for the sunset since it had been a stormy day.Lighting
I was hesitant to go out shooting the evening this was taken. It had been a stormy day, and I had been watching the clouds all day to see if a good sunset might result from the storm clouds. About an hour before sunset, there was still too much cloud cover than I would have liked, so I had pretty much decided that I wasn't going to go out to shoot. I changed my mind about 15 minutes before the sun set and ran out to the nearest field of hay bales, just in case. Right as the sun was hitting the horizon, a golden color lit up the horizon.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Nikon D610, a Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G lens, and a Manfrotto tripod.Inspiration
Whenever I visit my grandparents in Oklahoma, I always see fields full of hay bales during the summer. It's such a beautiful sight! I knew when there was a sunset that looked promising that I would go to one of these fields of hay bales to take pictures.Editing
The post-processing for this photo was done in Lightroom. Though I don't usually create HDR images, I did with this one. The first image I took, I first exposed for the sky, then in a second image I exposed for the foreground. Using HDR, I blended the two images together.In my camera bag
In my bag I usually have my Nikon D610 body and two lenses which are my 14-24mm and 24-85mm. The 14-24mm is my favorite for landscape photography. I also pack a shutter release remote and a 0.6 Neutral Density Graduated filter.Feedback
I've witnessed some of the most amazing sunsets while vacationing in Oklahoma.The landscape can be a bit boring sometimes though, so its important to find an interesting element to put in the foreground of a sunset photo in order to make the photo more interesting. Farming being such an integral part of Oklahoma, I found a hay bale to be the perfect foreground subject. Other interesting subjects for a landscape photo taken in the countryside are farming equipment, unique trees, ponds, wildlife, etc.