Golden Horizons
Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in Victoria, Australia near where I had been living for a year.Time
The image was taken during the golden hour on a beautiful and balmy spring evening, there was very little wind so the sea was calm.Lighting
The light is often superb during this time of the day, and this day was no exception. Shooting into the sun I used an ND grad to balance the bright sky with the darker foreground/pier. the Suns position meant it looked like it was almost setting at the end of the pier. After some time watching the fishing boats come in I was able to set up and get a nice composition just in time for the setting sun. Working in manual mode I had my camera set to its lowest ISO, F11 and then worked out the shutter speed to obtain the best exposure. I also made sure I focused approx third into the scene to get good front to back sharpness.Equipment
I used a Nikon d5100 with a Nikon wide angle lens. Camera was mounted on a manfrotto tripod and a Cokin ND grad was used to balance the exposure. Along with a wireless trigger release and a polariser.Inspiration
Walks along the coast in this area were always inspiring, I had been taking images of the many local jetties and piers and was keen to shoot this knowing the position of the setting sun, the colours of the sunsets were always particularly vibrant during spring and summer so it was a perfect opportunity.Editing
I only work in LR and try not to heavily process my images as I prefer them to be enhanced as opposed to looking overly edited it digitally manipulated. Therefore I reduced the highlights, increased the shadows, brought back some depth and contrast, along with a small amount of clarity and vibrancy boost. The image was also sharpened in LR along with any camera calibration.In my camera bag
Depends on the type of shot, for a landscape shot like this image though I would always carry a tripod and some ND grads. Of course the exposure could also be balanced by bracketing so it is not an absolute necessity to have grads. I also like to take my wireless trigger release.Feedback
Go back to a location if the light is not working for you, especially if you live close by. Get there with plenty of time to set up and start working with the light, and don't stop shooting once the sun sets sometimes the light is at its most spectacular just after sunset. Be careful with your exposures paying care to not 'blow' the highlights and don't forget to just stop and take a moment for yourself to enjoy the beauty of the landscape.
