GregGiessing

Vaal Dam, South Africa

Apr, 2016

Views

Likes

Awards

Editor's Choice

Thumbs Up

Top Choice

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Shot outside the home of the late, Nelson Mandela, in Houghton, Johannesburg, on the morning following his death.

Beautiful colors ca be seen as the sun dips below the horizon. Just wait for that perfect moment.

Hole in the Wall, Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape in South Africa

This is one of the only spots in Johannesburg that I could find with the view i wanted.

This photo was taken from the highest point in Johannesburg, Observatory Ridge.

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at the Vaal Dam in South Africa. This is the second largest dam in the country and has more than 800km of shoreline. This is a favorite weekend escape for my friends and I as it is close to the city. (But not too close)

Time

When visiting the dam, my friends and I often come down to the docks to watch the sun set over the water. On this occasion we took a good bottle of wine down and enjoyed ourselves well into the evening. When everyone had decided to go back to the house I decided to stay back and try capture some of the beauty we had just witnessed. This shot was taken at around 8:00pm.

Lighting

The dock in this shot, that I was standing on is a floating dock and any movement could send the dock into a wavy dance. So, when taking this photo, i had to set up my kit and find the composition and find the correct settings then sit as still as possible waiting for the dock to stop moving to make sure I had a sharp image with smooth water. The dam is situated about 100kms away from Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa and my hometown. the light you see emanating from the horizon is partly city light pollution.

Equipment

For this shot i was still using my first ever "real" camera kit. I was using a Nikon D3200, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens and a tripod to keep everything steady.

Inspiration

The golden glow from the distant city and the beautiful dark blue hues contrasted beautifully making up a gorgeous night sky and the serenity of the scene inspired me to want to capture that moment.

Editing

I tried as much as i could to get the effect i wanted, in-camera. But as we all know landscape photography usually requires post-processing. I tried to do as little as possible, bring out the shadows slighlty and accentuate the distant glow from the city lights. Did not do much else.

In my camera bag

My equipment has changed slightly since taking this photo but is still rather modest. I now carry my newest additions to my kit including: My Nikon D7100 Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 Lense Sigma 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Intervelometer/Remote Shutter Release Manfrotto Travel Tripod

Feedback

Try not to wait too long into the night so you can still get some of those deep blues in the sky. Contrasting colors such as blues and yellows make a photo more interesting. Try find a spot where camera shake will be at a minimum and use a remote shutter release. If the water is moving/flowing, use a longer exposure by using a longer shutter speed. For this shot I used a 25 second shutter speed and increased my ISO slightly to ensure I captured the light and some stars in the photo. this will give the water a smooth and silky appearance.

See more amazing photos, follow GregGiessing

GregGiessing

GregGiessing

Vaal Dam, South Africa

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow GregGiessing

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.