Ocean Girl
A girl in a red dress standing in front of the ocean feeling the calm and vastness.
A combination of a long exposure with the Bigstopper from Lee ...
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A girl in a red dress standing in front of the ocean feeling the calm and vastness.
A combination of a long exposure with the Bigstopper from Lee Filters and a selfportrait.
Read less
A combination of a long exposure with the Bigstopper from Lee Filters and a selfportrait.
Read less
Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This self portrait was taken at Porto Santo / Madeira / Portugal during my vacations in September 2015. I stayed a week at this beautiful little island - mostly at the beach. I planned to take some self portraits beforehand and I knew that the sandy beach at Porto Santo would be the perfect place for my ideas.Time
I stayed in a hotel near the beach and walked every day my little route through the sand. One day I grabbed my camera, my tripod and my red dress after lunch and told myself, I'm going to shoot some pics for my #thedresstales series. And so I did! This photo is one of my favorites - happily there weren't many people at the beach, because the most of them were at home taking their usual afternoon nap.Lighting
It was a cloudy and slightly stormy day, the perfect conditions for the time I have chosen to go for a shooting. Normally it would have been to bright due to the sun at the time of the day - but with the clouds in the sky it was a little bit hazy and I hadn't to fight with too much glare. I knew I would love to take a photograph combined of 2 pics: one of me with the blowing dress and another one of the landscape as a long exposure shot. I wanted the clouds to look a little more dramatic and the ocean to be still and the surface of the water a little smoother. I used a Big Stopper and a ND Filter 0.9 Hard Grad to be able to make the ocean smooth and the clouds moving and to darken the bright sky a little for more contrast.Equipment
I used my Nikon D750 camera with a Nikkor 50mm f1.8 prime lens (my most beloved setup which I nearly use in 85 % of all my shootings). Since I haven't got an assistant to help me I had to use a Sirui tripod and a remote control to shoot my self portraits. For the landscape long exposure I additionally used my beloved Lee Filters (Big Stopper and 0.9 Hard Grad).Inspiration
Since I deeply love the ocean I wanted to capture this love for my #TheDressTales series. #TheDressTales is a series of self portraits where I always wear a dress and show my love for our nature and the emotions it rises in me. In this case I wanted to showcase the effects the ocean has to me. It makes me stand still, just watching the water flow and the clouds passing by. I love the calm ocean, but I love more the dramatic side of this stunning place - here I was able to combine both sides (the calm water on the one hand and the dramatic clouds on the other).Editing
I had to develop 2 pics - the landscape and the self portrait. I did this with the raw converter in photoshop and put both pics in single layers in one photoshop file. Afterwards I had to create a combined layer and erase the landscape of the self portrait with a layer mask. Then I did some color adjustments using different NIK Filters. The last step was to add a little sunflare and the magic was done. ;-)In my camera bag
I always try to limit myself when it comes to pack my camera bag. I have no car, so I have to carry along all my stuff in my handbag or my backpack. Normally my minimum equipment is my Nikon D750 Body and my 50mm prime lens (daily) and then it depends on my shooting plans, which lenses I am going to take additionally with me. Since I only use prime lenses I can choose between this other 2 models: Nikkor 105 mm macro f2.8 for macro photography (flowers) or Sigma ART 24 mm f1.4 for wide landscape photography. If I go for a planned shooting walk I always take my Sirui tripod with me and my LEE Filters (Big Stopper, 0.9 Hard Grad, 0.6 Soft Grad) and - very important - my remote control and my IPhone as stopwatch and for the Lee App.Feedback
Don't be shy when it comes to capture self portraits!!! Try to choose some remote places like forests, beaches or farming fields if you have such places nearby. Otherwise take a walk at the parts of your city which are known for trails - you will always find some beautiful places on your way. Try to think ahead and to visualize your picture beforehand. Take your time and don't hurry! And don't mind to stop for a chance if you stumble upon it. Many of my pics happened to be coincidences.
