Hay Bales at Sunset
Aug, 2015Views
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People's Choice in Harvest Time Photo Challenge
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Shutterspeedblog
August 24, 2015
Just curious. The sky doesn't seem to match the shadows on the field. Is this a merge of two different shots?
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This image was captured just outside my home town of Rushden, East Northamptonshire. It is a field that is set above the wide sweeping hills and it gives a great view across the farmland and lakes in the bottom of the shallow valley.Time
I'd noticed the field on my way over to Wellingborough earlier in the day and grabbed my camera kit almost at the last minute. I had just 20 minutes or so to capture this image and nearly missed it owing to someone shooting rabbits in the bottom of the field. When sun began to set and the sky looked promising, it was time to ignore the firing shot gun and head for one of the few accessible parts of the field and a long walk around the outside. It was well worth the effort to get this image and it is one of my favourite UK shots from the summer.Lighting
The lighting was mostly all natural. I had my speedlight and a torch and those were used to pop a little light into the shaded part of the hay bale nearest to the camera. However the real magic happened as the sun disappeared over the horizon to the right of the image. The sky turned really golden at that point and over to the left of me a dark bank of cloud had threatened to ruin the shot. However, those clouds turned numerous shades of red to really make this a most unusual shot. To be honest, the light just kept changing and changing and I came away with several good images, but this one is by far my favourite.Equipment
I used my trusted Canon 5D MkIII, Lee Filters to take down the sky a little to balance the field and hay bales. Obviously a sturdy tripod and the tourch and speedlight to pop some light into the bale.Inspiration
I thoroughly enjoy getting out into the countryside and looking for unusual images. I'd been looking for a harvest shot that was a little different to the normal bales with stalk lines running down the field and a sunset in the background. I don't have those leading lines, but this image just works for me because of the colours and layout of the bales in the image.Editing
I try not to post process my images too much and try to keep them as natural as possible. If I do anything it is usually a crop in Lightroom, camera corrections and maybe a little contrast and clarity. I like to keep my images as memories for myself first and foremost and over processing them often leads to a winning shot but nothing like what I remembered and the reasons why I took the time to seek out or take the shot.In my camera bag
As much as I can carry because you never know what you might need. So, my Canon 5D, selection of lenses, filters, tripod, remote release and camera cleaning kit.Feedback
There are countless images of hay bales in fields. You need to look for something a little different. In this case it was all about the sky and bringing that together with a late summers evening scene - harvesting. I tend to look at what inspires me and then think what could I do better. I have tried to reparoce other people's work but it only leads to frustration. Take the idea and then forget it, go out and find a similar setting but walk around the whole scene looking for a different perspective, a different and unusual angle or some other form of interest that balances the composition. I have stopped looking for inspiration from people online. When I have the time, I grab my camera, head out and see what finds me along the way. There is nothing better than coming home with that winning image when you never actually planned anything.
