raymondtharaldson

Fall in Sinking Valley, PA.

An Amish family crossing the bridge at Arch Spring.
Fall 2015

An Amish family crossing the bridge at Arch Spring.
Fall 2015
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Oct, 2015

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Awards

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Outstanding Creativity

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Superb Composition

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this image in Sinking Valley, PA.

Time

It was late in the day about an hour before sunset.

Lighting

Sinking Valley is an area filled with numerous sink holes, caves and underground rivers. The lighting is always changing by the minute and with it the mood.

Equipment

I've been shooting Nikon for most of my career. The lens I used for this shot was a Nikon DX VR 18-55mm lens set to its widest angle of view. My tripod is a Bogen 3001 fitted with the Bogen 3265 Head.

Inspiration

Actually I was set up in the opposite direction composing a shot of the area where an underground river is exposed. I heard the clapping of the horses hooves on the pavement and picked up my tripod & camera, swung around and as soon as the legs hit the ground and the buggy was at the thirds mark I captured this image. I really didn't think I had anything special and returned to composing my original picture in the opposite direction. Unfortunately the lighting never co-operated for this shot and I remember leaving disappointed. It wasn't until later that evening when I viewed it on a large monitor that I realized how special this image is.

Editing

In Photoshop I worked with the overall exposure, then dodged some of the foreground a bit and lightly burned in the highlights however this image is pretty close to its raw state.

In my camera bag

It seems I've owned and sold just about every camera body Nikon has made. However I've never let go of a lens that I've owned and really love marrying the older ones to a digital bodies. I really strive to capture a film look to my images. My favorite set up is a 28mm f/1.4 for landscapes, a 105mm macro f/2.8 for portraits & macro shots of insects and a 200mm f/2.8 for nature and some portrait work. These lenses allow me to use a wide aperture to soften the backgrounds and limit the depth of field as well as shoot in extremely low light situations. Because of Photoshop I've retired most of my filters. I use a stack of Neutral Density filters when I'm taking really long exposures and need to drastically cut down the amount of light.

Feedback

Always, always, always expect the unexpected. Don't get tunnel vision on what you think you should capture. A plan or vision is great but life seems to have a mind of its own and we need to be able to respond in a heart beat to what it wants to share with us!

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raymondtharaldson

raymondtharaldson

Fall in Sinking Valley, PA.

An Amish family crossing the bridge at Arch Spring. Fall 2015

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow raymondtharaldson

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An Amish family crossing the bridge at Arch Spring.
Fall 2015

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