DanMontalbano
FollowThe sun bursting through “The House,” a famous cluster of sequoias along the Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park. The scale of these trees is quite simp...
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The sun bursting through “The House,” a famous cluster of sequoias along the Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park. The scale of these trees is quite simply, staggering. They are towering giants from another age that make fully-grown pines look like match sticks. The trees are thousands of years old and have survived countless wildfires, droughts and storms. A 19th-century logger reportedly cut one down and counted 3,000 rings on the massive stump. He turned in his axe and became one of the forest’s early defenders. It's easy to understand why.
Although carefully managed by the National Park Service, Sequoia still feels wild and remote. A mountain lion prowled near our campfire on our first night and a black bear lumbered across the road in front of us the next. Delicate deer grazed all around. If you find yourself in this part of the American West, this awe-inspiring National Park is a must-see.
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Although carefully managed by the National Park Service, Sequoia still feels wild and remote. A mountain lion prowled near our campfire on our first night and a black bear lumbered across the road in front of us the next. Delicate deer grazed all around. If you find yourself in this part of the American West, this awe-inspiring National Park is a must-see.
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this while walking along the Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park, California.This is a famous cluster of Sequioa's called "The House" - matched by another cluster a short trek away called "The Senate"Time
It was late afternoon and the sun was just starting to set. My wife and I were part of the way through what was going to be a long hike and I remember being worried about whether we would make it back to base before dark. The light was stunning and the scale of the trees in Sequoia is otherworldly, so I kept getting side-tracked with all the photographic opportunities. Needless to say we weren't making as much progress as we had planned! In the end we didn't complete the loop - we ended up turning back and made it to base just before dark.Lighting
It's always challenging shooting into the light. Here I positioned myself so that the smallest sliver of a sunburst was visible through the trees. I was looking for something that would capture the beauty of the moment and showcase the scale of the trees.Equipment
This is a handheld shot with a Nikon D600 and a 28-300 VRII Nikkor lens.Inspiration
Who doesn't love a good sunburst. The light was beautiful and the sunburst acted as the perfect counterpoint to the cluster of enormous trees. One regret is that I didn't have anything in the foreground to show off the size of the trees. But if you can picture it, my wife was the height of the first knuckle on the right side of the second tree from the left.Editing
In order to get a clean sunburst but still retain enough light to show the detail in the trees (otherwise completely silhouetted) I had to take multiple exposures and merge them in post-production. I didn't have a tripod so had to settle for a handheld high-speed three-shot bracket, each image set at two stops apart. I did my initial edits in lightroom, mostly adjusting highlights/shadows & whites/blacks to balance the histogram. Then I merged the three images in photoshop, shifting it back into lightroom for the finishing touches.In my camera bag
This was part of a larger trip where I spent 7 months on the road, so I became quite efficient with what I had in my kit bag. My all-rounder lens when traveling is the Nikkor 28-300mm VRII which is incredibly versatile. But I also usually carry a wide 20mm f2.8 Nikkor, a 50mm 1.4g for portraits and a Nikkor 100mm Tokina F2.8 macro lens. I use them all quite frequently, depending on where I am and what I'm shooting. In addition to that I carry a remote trigger and light travel tripod for longer exposures.Feedback
When there's enough light, try handheld bracketing. It allows you to take shots directly into the light without a tripod and bring through all the best elements in post production. Creating a sunstar is not difficult, the trick is in spotting when you have an opportunity to create one and finding the right position.