Christmas Lights
Feb, 2016Views
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Winner in Things in the water Photo Challenge
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken at temple square, Salt Lake City, UT. It was during the Christmas season, so naturally there were plenty of decorations everywhere.Time
This was probably around 7pm or so, I think. I didn't plan on this shot at all. I was pretty lucky because, at the time, this area was crawling with people, and I had no tripod with me. That's not a very good combination when you don't have much light and you are trying to use a low ISO, so I didn't have much time or space to get this image. Anyways, I'm happy the way it turned out.Lighting
As far a lighting, the only light was really what you see, the temple was lit up with spot lights, which made a great reflection on the water amongst the floating candles. Other than that, it was nighttime, not much other lighting going into this photo.Equipment
For this photo, I used a Canon 60D, at 44mm, no tripod, no flash, ISO 400, f/5.0, 1/15 sec. I really don't have much in my camera bag and almost exclusively use my 18 - 55 mm lens.Inspiration
Well I went to this site with the intention of getting something good, but like I said before, with the crowds of people it was difficult to find a shot. I was really just walking around hoping to get a little bit of inspiration. I saw the water with the floating candles and thought, "…well you don't see that everyday." At the same time I wanted a unique shot of the temple, so I figured, why not try and get them together and see what happens.Editing
I had to do some post-processing, the image originally was just too dark. I bumped up the exposure, saturations, contrast, and detail. Other than those things, not much else was really done, though I did have to use some cropping ninja skills due to all of the surrounding people.In my camera bag
I think I already touched on this previously. All I really use is my Canon 60D with a 18-55mm lens. I use a cheap tripod from a second hand store. It's my third one in two years, so I have thought about investing in something more durable. We will see. Being a beginner to photography I guess I have lots of growing to do as far as whats in my "bag." Even though I am limited as to my equipment I have always tried to compensate with composition.Feedback
There are a few things that come to mind. 1. Opportunities to take great photos are everywhere, and you don't necessarily need to go to the ends of the earth to get one, so keep your eyes always open. 2. Get to know your camera well and how to compose photos so that you can use the minimal amount of post-processing (which can only help so much). 3. The more good photos you take, the better you will become. 4. Get to know how to post-process a photo well. It's actually one of my favorite parts of the process because that is the time where you start to see your work really come to life! After I'm done editing a photo, I love to switch back and forth between the original and the finished product just to see the difference! 5. Have fun. I have found the more you are enjoying the process, the better the outcomes will be.
