Sunrise Acacia Tree Masai Mara
Feb, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in Masai Mara - on the Kenyan side. I was working in Africa so was lucky enough to have a weekend free before work in Nairobi so spent a night/2 days on safari.Time
It was about 630am. We got up very early to head away for the day. The safari guide was more interested in making sure we had food and coffee while I just wanted to get out before the sun got up! We were driving to where some elephants had been spotted and I saw this tree and yelled stop. I was "oked" to get out off the truck and waited while the sun moved into position. Took some pics and then went off to see the animals.Lighting
I knew shooting into the sun would give a good silhouette so I just made sure I had the right fstop and let the rest happenEquipment
I was a bit new to photography and this was my first "proper" camera. I used a Canon EOS 550D with an EFS 55 - 250mm lens...nothing elseInspiration
I wanted something to really capture Africa. Many of the animal we photographed could be from other countries but the Acacia tree is synonymous with Africa. The sunsets and sunrises were also spectacular but hard to capture as you are not allowed out of the truck unless there are no "killers" around making it hard to get into the right position to capture the sun as it continuously moves.Editing
Yes - being knew I had taken the picture in JPEG. But soon after I discovered Lightroom and shooting in RAW. For this image I simply turned brought up the highlights and turned down the shadows while making the black SUPER black and removed a bit of the white from the imageIn my camera bag
My focus right now is Street photography and I travel for work so need something small, light and easy. I have a Fujifilm x100s, ND Filter, lots of spare batteries and a Velbon Tripod.Feedback
I am still only just starting out on my photographic journey. My advice would be to be open, be creative and try lots of different things. While on Safari there where a lot of VERY professional (looking) photographers on the truck. I always tried to take pictures of other things so we weren't all crowding around getting in each others ways. The more you try, the more you experiment, the more you click, the faster you will discover what you love and then that will come through in your photos.
