Well it beats the chimney...
Jan, 2016Views
1147
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Happy Holidays Photo Contest 2016
Peer Award
Superb Composition
All Star
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Love it
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Happy
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Categories
PRO+
PRO+
PRO+
GNikolovPhotography
December 09, 2019
I will be happy if you join my holiday challenge
viewbug.com/challenge/the-magic-of-holidays-photo-challenge-by-gnikolovphotography
viewbug.com/challenge/the-magic-of-holidays-photo-challenge-by-gnikolovphotography
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
There's only one place in the world where you can get this shot, and as far as I know only one Sunday every year. "Il Canalazzo" the Grand Canal in Venice on the last Sunday before Christmas.Time
I'd arrived in the city late the previous evening and so rose early the following morning to explore before too many other tourists were about, though this is one of the advantages of visiting the city in the winter; most prefer somewhere warmer! I made straight for the vaporetto stop nearest my hotel, and didn't wait long before a boat moored to accept passengers. As it did so I spotted the unmistakable colours of a Santa hat pass by through the vessel's windows, and cursed myself that I hadn't boarded sooner for what would have been a great novelty shot. In the hope of salvaging something I rushed to the other side of the boat and looked in the direction he'd been rowing towards, but it was quite foggy (another attraction of Venice in winter) and he was barely visible. Turning to look in the other direction I couldn't believe my luck when a full boatload emerged from the mist in my direction. I was glad to have my Canon hanging to hand on a Black Rapid strap and was able to get the shot before the water bus began moving once more.Lighting
Shot with natural light that was completely diffused by the morning mist.Equipment
Tripods on boats are pointless so I needed to shoot at high shutter speed to get a crisp image. Because the fog washed out the scene a little I deliberately adjust the exposure down a little to give me greater saturation and boosted that further in Lightroom. I was shooting with a Canon 5d III f.4 70-200 which doesn't have image stabilisation because it is so much lighter when you're going to be walking a city all day with two camera bodies (I have a 17-40 on the other body to enable me to capture wide shots without stopping to change lenses - handy for St Mark's Square!).Inspiration
This picture is pure opportunism - firstly I couldn't believe my eyes, then I couldn't believe me luck that I was in exactly the spot to capture what I was seeing. A lot of people have suggested I should have this made as a Christmas Card.Editing
To compensate for the fog I gave the red saturation a boost in lightroom and adjusted the white balance marginally to keep a cold look to the shot.In my camera bag
I only carry two bodies when walking cities, purely because you never know what you will encounter around any corner and as above opt for wide and tight lenses. Normally my go to lens with my 5d III is the 70-200 f2.8 with a 24-70 and 17-40 carried separately in a bag. More often that not that bag will have a giotto carbon fibre tripod attached in case I wander into any churches where the lighting is subdued to preserve the frescoes.Feedback
I think the secret to the success of this shot was my Black Rapid Yeti harness which allows me to have a camera hanging by each hand for those "quick on the draw" moments!
