alastairdixon
alastairdixon
Roque Bentayga & Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria
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Roque Bentayga & Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria



After being inspired by an image seen on Flickr, I decided to try and find a similar viewpoint on Gran Canaria to shoot these two magnificent rocks in the same ...
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After being inspired by an image seen on Flickr, I decided to try and find a similar viewpoint on Gran Canaria to shoot these two magnificent rocks in the same image.

It took a long time to find the perfect secluded spot, and an even longer time to drive back to the hotel on the extremely scary singly track mountain roads, with no barriers..in the dead of night.. :-

So worth it for this image though :)
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upload_dateSep, 2015

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21 Comments | Report
candicemacmillan
 
candicemacmillan September 13, 2015
Beautiful lighting
alisawilkerson
 
alisawilkerson October 04, 2015
Wow!! AMAZING!!!
alastairdixon
alastairdixon October 23, 2015
Thank you Alisa :)
Mimismountain Premium
 
Mimismountain October 23, 2015
This is the most beautiful picture!
nbordega
 
nbordega October 24, 2015
Stunning landscape!
nandicmb PRO+
 
nandicmb November 06, 2015
Congratulations on all your wins!
alastairdixon
alastairdixon November 06, 2015
Thank you! :)
Jfitz
 
Jfitz November 17, 2015
Idk what I could say about this photo that hasn't been said..it inspires me to learn more. It's a photo you never forget. Masterpiece Multiplied!
alastairdixon
alastairdixon December 15, 2015
Wow thankyou for your lovely message!
texaaronpueschel Platinum
 
texaaronpueschel November 28, 2015
SAtriking beauty.
alastairdixon
alastairdixon December 15, 2015
Thankyou!
chrismorello
 
chrismorello December 10, 2015
Fantastic colors, definition, and lighting! You must have been excited when you first saw this through your viewfinder.
alastairdixon
alastairdixon December 15, 2015
I really was! The waiting paid off :)
Kathey PRO+
 
Kathey December 14, 2015
One of the most focused, detailed, colorful, balanced landscapes I've ever seen. ked the right combination of lighting and angle. Congrats!
alastairdixon
alastairdixon December 15, 2015
Thankyou Katy! Very kind!
ElenaRK
 
ElenaRK December 15, 2015
Merecio la pena. It was woth it!!
tmlakshmi PRO
 
tmlakshmi December 29, 2015
congratulations. stunning
LesNewhall Ultimate
 
LesNewhall February 06, 2016
breathtaking!
Vince542
 
Vince542 February 13, 2016
Awesome capture, fabulous photography!!!!
mcampi Platinum
 
mcampi March 03, 2016
I understand the drive as I am afraid of heights and hate roads lie this. But you survives and you nailed this shot. I love everything about it. Mark
busyginakate
 
busyginakate March 12, 2016
Nice work!
ahmedfouadibraheem
 
ahmedfouadibraheem March 30, 2016
Excellent shot.
barbaramillesrobinson PRO+
 
barbaramillesrobinson May 18, 2016
Beautiful capture! Voted Simple Landscapes. Good luck to you!
JaneFG PRO
 
JaneFG June 12, 2016
Simply stunning!!
darlenepollard PRO+
 
darlenepollard October 26, 2016
Worth the effort...beautiful! Where was this taken?
dinabasarab
 
dinabasarab March 29, 2017
Stunning!
Alwolfe Platinum
 
Alwolfe December 02, 2017
Absolutely stunning shot!

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Tags

#landscape #mountains #sunset #canon #spain #geology #rocks #beautiful
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Behind The Lens

Location
This photograph was taken near Tajada, in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands that has an amazing view of both Roque Bentayga & Roque Nublo; two famous geological landmarks on the island. It took a lot of scouting and homework to find the perfect spot before sunset rolled in. I was staying on the island to race in the Trans Grancanaria Marathon. What an amazing experience that was! I got to see so much of the island, it almost felt like a photography scouting adventure.
Time
This image was taken during sunset. My priority was to shoot Roque Bentayga & Roque Nublo in the same frame and I wanted to do this from a different perspective from what you may normally see.
Lighting
Other photographers have taken images of these rocks from the opposite side which means you can see the sun setting behind the rocks but at the cost of silhouetting the rocks formations. It was important to me to see the warm colours and tones on the rocks from the setting sunlight. The angle of the setting sun also gave the rocks more form and presence.
Equipment
Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens with a circular polarizing filter. And a Manfrotto tripod.
Inspiration
After being inspired by an image seen on Flickr, I decided to try and find a similar viewpoint on Gran Canaria to shoot these two magnificent rocks in the same image.
Editing
I spent about an hour processing this image in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. On this particular day there was a lot of sand in the air blown in from the Sahara; what the locals call “Calima”. This produced a bit of a washed out original image but it also gave the landscape a greater sense of depth. So I knew that later, by playing with contrast and gamma I would be able to keep the depth of the atmosphere but also bring out a far richer range of tones over all. In photoshop I like to overlay various grades and patch them into certain areas of the image to draw focus and enhance interesting features. Landscape photography for me is a blend of what your camera can capture for you and your imagination. Some people can be afraid of image processing or maybe even anti it. If the final image is eye catching and makes you and others feel something special then its a successful image, no matter how you got to it. I recommend to anyone out there who hasn’t dabbled much in it to go and have a go because it really can compliment your photography, and really make the features you noticed at the time of the shot, shine.
In my camera bag
My Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF24-105mm f/4L Lens , Canon 17-40mm f/4L Lens, my trusty 50mm f/1.4 and a few filters including a circular polarizing filter. I also carry a spare battery and memory card just in case.
Feedback
For me, its all about the light. With that in mind my priority with pretty much any landscape shot is to make sure I am in the right place at the right time, in order to capture the most dramatic lighting possible. Of course, being in this situation can very easily occur with luck too, so you have to be ready to snap at a moments notice. This happened to be the case for the photograph in question. If you have any in-depth questions regarding the image processing side to photography and photoshop methods, please ask me in the comments and I will try to help your out with answers where possible.

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