Castle hill
May, 2016Views
6083
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
2020 Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Grasslands And Meadows Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Backcountry Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Zen Moment Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Vol 28 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016
Featured
Contest Finalist in Unique Landscapes Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
shaun_denholm
July 15, 2016
I'd photographed castle hill a lot but always come out with similar shots. This time I thought I would explore further away from the rock formations.
CoreyGreepPhotography
August 13, 2016
Awesome shot! I visited Castle Hill a few months ago and wasn't very pleased with my shots but this looks great, good work!
shaun_denholm
August 13, 2016
Thank you. I have had many times where I haven't been pleased with my shots there. Tried something new this time.
PRO+
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured at Castle Hill. Castle Hill is situated about a one hour drive from Christchurch city on New Zealand's South Island.Time
This photo was taken early morning in the middle of May. I had spent most of the night at the reserve practising my astro-photography, and decided to stick around a few extra hours to catch the sunrise. Sunrise didn't give me anything to work with; however, being a beautiful morning, I decided to explore a little bit further afield while the sun was still pretty low in the sky and I had the place to myself.Lighting
The photo was captured around an hour after sunrise. I had spent much of the morning exploring the rocks looking for a unique photo; however, I didn't have much luck and the dynamic range between the shadowy foreground and the bright sky made it hard to find anything too inspiring. I decided to wait a little bit while exploring further afield so the light could hit the foreground more and add a little bit more blue to the sky.Equipment
Canon 6D with a 17-40 f4 USM lens. Mefoto A1350 tripod. Polariser filter.Inspiration
I have spent many hours exploring the inner rock formations or castle hill... along with 100's of other photographers and tourists. I was finding lots of photos online that I liked and would find myself trying to replicate them. This time around however, after doing my usual exploring and hoping to find a picture within the rocks, I decided to head out the back of the reserve and shoot from a totally different angle. I liked how the snow and shadows looked on the hills behind and the leading lines of the fence and track in the foreground.Editing
I often will do some post processing on my landscape photos. Some need more work than others, depending on the light and dynamic range. I try to keep the photo, or photos looking as close to the original view I was trying to capture. I never remove anything from the scene, apart from all the dust spots. This time around I had to blend six portrait oriented photos together to create a panorama. I then reduced the highlights a bit and lightened the shadows a little due to the brightness in the sky and darkness in the foreground and around the rocks. Finally I did a little bit of sharpening.In my camera bag
Canon 6D 17-40mm f4 USM lens 24mm - 105mm IS STM 3.5 - 5.6 lens 20mm f1.4 Samyang lens Breakthrough photography 6 stop ND filter Polariser filter Shutter release etcFeedback
If you visit a place a lot, try to find unique angles. I used to try to replicate photos I thought were awesome until one of my friends questioned this approach. They asked me what the point of capturing exactly the same photo of everyone else is. You don't really stretch your creative mind until you start looking for those unique angles and compositions. Since that day, I will always try to find at least one unique composition that I haven't seen before.
