Through the Woods
In Sea Ranch, California, most eyes are on the incredible coastline. I happened across this scene while walking through the woods to the coast. The trees all ha...
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In Sea Ranch, California, most eyes are on the incredible coastline. I happened across this scene while walking through the woods to the coast. The trees all have a windblown tilt
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Dec, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at The Sea Ranch in Northern California. Its a shot looking down one of the "signature hedgerows" (as they call them) of Monterrey Cyprus that were planted 50 years ago as the area was being developed. This is the only hedgerow that has a hiking trail passing down the middle.Time
This image was taken in the morning when the light was coming from the side and somewhat behind the hedgerow. I have taken this shot at all times of day and prefer this lighting.Lighting
Morning light avoids high contrast shadows that appear as the day goes on. By late afternoon, the subtle tones that appear in the morning are washed out by sun from behind. In addition, the "tunnel" effect and background glow in this image is greatly diminished later in the day.Equipment
I took this with an Olympus PEN e-P3 and a Leica(Panasonic) D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm zoom at 18mm. I used f/3.7 handheld at 1/25sec. I regret not having used a tripod!Inspiration
The Cyprus trees on the Northern California coast have been sculpted into incredible windblown forms that reveal the environment that they have had to endure for decades. These hedgerows are of aging Cyprus that are reaching the end of their growth cycle. I found this scene at this light to be a fairly unique view that captures the beauty of these trees.Editing
I try to avoid a lot of post-processing, but like most of my shots, I have cropped, dodged/burned, etc using Lightroom.In my camera bag
My two favorite cameras are my Leica Q and my Olympus OMD E-M1. With the E-M1, I use the Leica 14-150mm zoom as here, but more often use the compact M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens. Some ND filters and polarizers come along as well. For most casual trips, if it won't fit in my little nylon should bag, it generally doesn't go. For serious photography trips, I'll take along a backpack and a Mamiya 645AF/AptusII monster. It takes fabulous images, but is a lot of work to get right. With all of these, things turn out best with a tripod and I like my Slik carbon fiber model with a ball head.Feedback
Just the usual things: 1) look around for the less obvious subjects that contribute to the essence of wherever you are, and have texture, subtlety, or some other feature that compliments the more obvious subject matter surrounding you; 2) try the same shot at different times of day if you can and see what works best. That was very important for this shot; 3) take lots of pictures and don't get hung up thinking you will only get a great image during 'golden hours'. The experience you gain will be worth it and sometimes high noon is exactly the right time for a certain subject.
