Final time
Dec, 2015Views
2511
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Featured
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 5
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Love it
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This particular photo was taken at dusk, after spending a few hours making a shoot of a client in the small beach "Praia da Caloura" in "Agua de Pau" S.Miguel of Azores.Time
This photo wasn't meant to happen, I mean, I went to this particular beach around 2 pm and at 4pm we were already packing up. Me and my friend decided to stay a bit longer (talking most of the time) since the daylight was flat and uninteresting. When it got to 5 Pm I decided to make a few test shots around a few rocks located there. Then after 10 to 20 minutes, the sun broke trough the clouds giving that magenta and red color in the clouds, it was magical, I hurried up to get the perfect composition and tried a few quick shots before I got this one. This was taken in a small window of just 10 minutes.Lighting
I used two strobe lights, its always handy to have these around, they were one Sb-600 and a Sb-700, they never let me down. One was used as a fill light(sb700), just enough to brighten the area around the rocks and water in front of me (hence the blue cast in the water) and the other one was used to lighten the right rock.Equipment
This was shot in a Nikon D7000 with a Tamron 17-50 2.8 Xi DR LD II, with the steady tripod Manfrotto 190XPRO and with two speedlights the Nikon SB 600 and the SB 700. Also I used two cokin filters, the ND 4 and a Gradient ND 8 and a Rodenstock Polarizer (just to cut some glow in the water).Inspiration
I usually work with animal and people portrait along with landscapes (one of my passions) and since I love the sea, something made me want to stay there for bit longer. The original session was done, but the place, the sea, the clash of the waves, all pulled me to stay there and explore a bit more. Until I got this shot just by waiting and trying new things.Editing
Yes, I used Photoshop to process the RAW files and pulled a bit more detail out of the photo. Also I used another exposure just to brighten the rocks all around.In my camera bag
Usually this depends a lot in what I am going to do. I tend to pack one or two speed lights, my 50 mm 1.8 (Just love this one), the Tamron 17-50mm, the Sigma 8-16 mm. A couple of gels for the speed lights, a few triggers for them. The Manfrotto tripod, a cleaning kit (This is vital) and my personal favorite a bottle of water (What were you expecting? Beer!? I never drink on the job, only afterwards) .Feedback
These kind of situations teaches us always to wait for the best and having some patience in the process helps a lot. My advice is: Just because you believe you are done and ready to pack, doesn't mean that the day is over, wait a bit longer, explore new angles, try to get a bit closer, you will never, but never know what will happen until it happens! And when it happens, be ready, be steady and be fast, and capture that moment, because you won't get a second chance. Oh and just one more thing, even if you fail to capture a great photo, keep on trying, failure is just a stone for the castle of success. Keep on clicking ;)
