View from Burj Khalifa
Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo from the top of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world. In my four years of stay in the country, that was just the very first time I saw the overwhelming beauty of the whole city with all its perfectly made buildings and roads.Time
My wife and I decided to go at the top of the building before it gets dark so that we will be able to clearly see the view. We actually waited in the long line for 3 hours and luckily, we were able to get to the top at around 5 PM, when the sun is already setting. This was taken on February 2013 at 5:30 PM.Lighting
I love how everything in this photo was purely natural light. It was 5:30 PM and I was fortunate enough to take advantage of the beautiful lights and colors that the golden hour produced. In post-processing, I just enhanced the photo's vibrance so that the contrasting of colors will be perfectly seen.Equipment
It was actually not in my family's itinerary to go at the top of the Burj Khalifa that day so I was not completely prepared. I was also just beginning my photography hobby that time so I didn't have much equipment. I only brought my NIKON D3100 and Nikkor 18-55mm lens with me. I didn't also bring any tripod so I just took this photo handheld.Inspiration
I took this photo just months after I bought my first Nikon Digital Camera. As a beginner, my goal was to capture the beautiful landscape even if I'm just using a not so costly camera. It was also one of my goals to make the viewers feel the sublime feeling of being on top of the highest building in the world. It feels great to capture a moment, at the most perfect time of the day and in a beautiful place like this.Editing
I used Photoshop for the post-processing of this photo. I only adjusted the photo's vibrance so as to make it more colorful and also the levels to emphasize the beautiful effect of the natural light.In my camera bag
Now that I'm beginning to advance my skills in photography, I always bring my Nikon D90. I'm currently practicing portrait photography so I always bring my Nikkor 50mm 1.8 with me because I believe it's perfect for taking portraits. For any kinds of photography, I also bring with me my Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5–6.3 DC OS lens, which I really admire for its stabilization capacity even if the subject is far from where I'm taking it.Feedback
One of the pieces of advice that I can give, especially to the beginners is that to continue on learning and practicing your photography. Even though I'm a full-time nurse and graduate student, I still invest my free times in improving my photography skills by going out, reading some photography books and browsing through ViewBug and other photography sites to gain inspirations. My second advice is to never limit yourself on the creative realm of photography, whether it's on shooting or post-processing. Always try something different and new. Creativity is venturing on the unconventional, so never be scared to venture in the other categories of photography as soon as you master the kind of photography that you're currently practicing. Lastly, photography is all about investment. If you really want to pursue your passion in photography, the most essential things that you have to invest first are your time and energy. It's also a must to invest on your lens, camera, and other equipment. Always do you best at all times wherever you are.
