michaelhadfield

Balnakiel Bay, Sutherland

Canon EOS 6D

settings

Aperture f/20 ISO 100 Shutter 1/100 Focal Length 24/1

upload_date

Dec, 2015

Views

138

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Magnificent Capture

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Amazing sky and scenery

thanks it's a beautiful place.

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Behind The Lens

Location

Balnakiel Bay used to be a beautiful quiet beach in the far north of Scotland - not far from Cape Wrath. Then the North Coast 500 was created, and although I haven't been since, I suspect it's not as quiet as it used to be. This spot requires a walk of over a mile across the beach and through the dunes. This shot is looking overland in the direction of Cape Wrath about 8 miles away.

Time

According to the file this was shot around 5pm in July. At that time of year, the days are very long in this part of the world.

Lighting

The RAW image was interesting enough, but I thought that cloudscape had more potential in B&W, so I brought that out in Photoshop.

Equipment

Hand held camera, Canon EOS 6D, 24-105mm f4 L at 24mm.

Inspiration

I loved the wildness of this place. That, plus the sky, the sea, no sign of human presence,adn that natural frame of the dunes made it a winner for me.

Editing

Nik Silver Efex is my go to place for B&W. It's fun to look at all the presets to get an idea of what I want and then to tweak the default settings to get something I like. It's fun to play around, but to have an idea of what I'm aiming for makes it easier to hone teh picturethe adjustments to create the effect I'm after.

In my camera bag

When I'm out and about, in order to save weight, I'll often just have the Canon 6D with its 24-105L lens. That pretty much covers most things I want to photograph on a general day out where I'm just out and about. If I need something else I'll usually have the Canon 100mm macro with me for close ups of flowers and plants. If I need to get close, then I'll probably just have the Canon 100-400mm L MkII with me. I've actually found that's a pretty good all round lens for everything but landscapes. Nowadays I only use a tripod for macro work because it's too heavy to lug around and I'm not as fit as I used to be in the olden days.

Feedback

Sand kills cameras, and it's particularly problematic if there's any wind around, so it's important to keep the camera in the bag until you need it. Have a reason for taking the picture - even if it's just to share with friends on social media. Also if you intend to manipulate the image, have at least a mental picture of what the end result is going to be. You may create something different but it helps to know why you are doing something. Remote places are not so easy to get back to, so, once you have your viewpoint, it's probably worth trying a few shutter/aperture combinations and bracketing shots.

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michaelhadfield

michaelhadfield

Balnakiel Bay, Sutherland

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow michaelhadfield

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