PapRika

Isolation

An isolated house in the mountains of the Greek island Karpathos sitting proudly and lonely.

An isolated house in the mountains of the Greek island Karpathos sitting proudly and lonely.
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NIKON D3100

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/800 Focal Length 550/10

upload_date

Dec, 2015

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Awards

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

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Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken on a warm, foggy day in Olympos village on the island of Karpathos in Greece. I'm an amateur photographer, trying to learn by experimenting and taking as many photos as possible. I'm self-taught and every single picture enables me to learn something new.

Time

I had completely forgotten about this image until today! It was a warm summer's day and we were driving to Olympos village on the Greek island of Karpathos. It was about 5pm (right after my afternoon swim) and I was sitting by the window, enjoying the cool breeze. In the middle of the journey, and just before reaching our destination, I asked my boyfriend to stop the car so that I can take a few pictures from up the hill.I did not have a tripod so I looked around to find a natural tripod somewhere in the environment. Luckily, I noticed the hood of the car and..Voila! I got myself a tripod and was able to keep my camera steady.

Lighting

I did not want the lighting conditions to be blinding because I thought the scene was too dramatic and beautiful to be obscured by bright light. So, I used the type of light that was available to me: nice and simple daylight! However, I subsequently converted my image to black and white as I wanted my picture to be somewhat mysterious and to highlight the isolation of that house which was lying on the top of the hill..all alone.

Equipment

This image was shot on a Nikon D3100, 18-55mm, f/16. No additional equipment was used.

Inspiration

I had heard a story about this village. In antiquity, this place was one of the most ancient cities of Karpathos. Today only a small part of the city is preserved along with the city walls and some ruins from graves. The then residents of the island sought refuge in the more mountainous areas of the island to escape from Saracen pirates. This story made me think about the loneliness and isolation that exists in the hearts of people who leave their home.

Editing

I processed the image by converting it to black and white. I then corrected the white balance and highlights so that the road leading to the house could appear sharper.

In my camera bag

I always try not to carry too much weight since I do not own a car and in most cases I use public transport when I travel. When I have the luxury of driving a car, I carry my precious D3100 (I still have the first proper camera I've ever purchased!) together with my 18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses. I also have two memory cards (just in case!) and my camera guide (I'm still a beginner, remember?!).

Feedback

I do not consider myself an expert but I'll try to share my wisdom with everyone! If you would like to capture landscape scenes, one of the most important ingredients for success is patience mainly because you will need to deal with changes in the weather: you can have snow, rain, sun, storm and heavy wind. Just try to pick the time and day you feel most comfortable with and start shooting! You will also probably want to choose a higher aperture to achieve a larger depth of field and to ensure that everything in the foreground and in the distance would be in sharp focus.

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PapRika

PapRika

Isolation

An isolated house in the mountains of the Greek island Karpathos sitting proudly and lonely.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow PapRika

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