Summer on Skye
May, 2016Views
555
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Top Shot Award
Member Selection Award
Summer Selection
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Top 20 rank
Categories
howardalleway
November 05, 2016
Cracking Image Ian... Looks like your weekend learning was well worth it :)
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
It was taken at the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye.Time
We had been waiting on the hillside watching the clouds go past, I wanted the sunlight on the far hill to draw the eye in but the other hills to be in shadow. It took a while for the clouds to hit the right combination, but as soon as it happened I knew this was the best shot of the day.Lighting
This is an outdoor photo so obviously I'm not using any flash or external lights. I just have the sun and the clouds creating patterns on the ground. I wanted the back of the photo to be lit up so I watched the clouds until I saw the gap I wanted appear and then took the shot.Equipment
I was using my (then new) Canon 70D with a borrowed 24-70 lens. I was using my Manfrotto travel tripod and focusing manually using the live-view screen on the back of the camera.Inspiration
I was trying to get better at landscape photography so I signed up for a workshop on Skye with a pro who lives there. We spent three days on the island with him learning tips and techniques that have helped me to this day.Editing
This isn't very processed, it's close to the out-of-camera image. I'm not really a fan of the strong HDR and tone-mapped look, I think it looks cheap and takes away the impact of a good photo. For me, processing should be invisible. I adjusted the light a bit and did some colour balancing but other than that there's not a lot of work done.In my camera bag
I like to shoot film and especially medium format these days. I generally take at least two cameras with me when I go out - my Canon 70D and my Arax 88 which is a rebuild of a Soviet medium format camera. I sometimes have a 35mm film camera with me too - either my Spotmatic F, my Kiev 10 or my trusty Zenit-E. Lens wise, I usually have a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 attached to the Canon unless I know I'm going to need some range, in which case I bring along a 100-300 lens too. My MF camera has either an 80mm f/2.8 or a 65mm f/3.5 lens attached. Apart from that, I like to have a few ND filters, my tripod and a remote trigger with me. I use the DSLR as a light meter for the film cameras so I don't carry a dedicated meter with me.Feedback
Often while walking around, I'll see a great scene and want to take that picture right away. It's always worth taking a moment to look at it and see what changes could make it even better. Maybe waiting for a combination of lighting as in my photo above, maybe trying to line up some lines in the image or just changing perspective a little and shooting from lower down. A lot of landscape photos are all about the background but neglect the foreground and this can be a big mistake, without something close to the camera, it can be hard to draw the viewer in further. Getting low down lets you put a rock or some flowers or something in the frame and gives you that little bit more.
