November morning-4263
Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This is at the Snoqualmie river, close to Novelty in Washington, USA. It's a quiet part of the river that is almost like a lake, with lots of birdlife and beautiful morning mist.Time
I was wanting to catch the early morning mists and frost around the river, so I headed out well before dawn to find the right spots. It was freezing cold, and I waited in the car with my thermos of hot tea until the light was just right. The grass and trees are still frosty from the night - this melts away as the sun comes up and clears the fog.Lighting
The morning light in the fog gives the setting a soft and almost eerie feel. All images turn out very soft, as the fog works as a giant softbox for the light.Equipment
This was taken with a Pentax K-3 using a Sigma 17-70mm 1:2.8-4.5 lens at 35 mm, 1/160, f/2.2 and ISO 100.Inspiration
I saw the tree coming out of the fog, and wanted to catch the feeling of eerie, cold and quiet November morning. I had just relocated to Washington, and wanted to capture the nature of this particular spot, which had caught my eye earlier when driving by.Editing
Post-processing was done in Lightroom, and consisted of simple adjustments: Exposure, vibrance, highlights and shadows. I also added a slight vignette.In my camera bag
I normally carry a backpack with my trusted Pentax K-3 plus three or four lenses ranging from the wide angle Sigma 10-20 mm to my longest tele, a Sigma 70-300 mm macro. My favorite lenses, however are two prime lenses, an old, manual 50 mm from the 1970's which takes the sharpest pictures, and a Tamron 90 mm macro, which takes me from the minute macro world to great portraits. In my backpack I also keep some other bits and bobs that have proven to come in handy at times - a rain shield for the camera, spare memory cards and batteries, a Swiss Army knife, a small reflector and a diffusor for my on-camera flash.Feedback
Just get out there, to that beautiful spot you've seen from the car window, at dawn when the weather and light conditions are right. You don't have much time to play with, as the light changes quickly and the sun burns away the fog as it rises. Find a nice spot and start shooting. And don't forget to look around, too. Sometimes the best images are the ones we don't notice at first....
