Bill_Peters_150618_-2
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billpeters_2511
March 29, 2018
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Black Point Brook Cove, "the Bold Coast", Cutler, Maine. Maine has large areas of terrain known as "reserved lands" This is a scene from one of them,- Fairy Head. If this is an example of what you are looking for, then you had better be prepared to "pay your dues", "pay the price",- whatever. Reaching this particular location requires a 3.8 - 4 mile hike and it is no "walk in the park". The only practical way to go about taking this sort of out-of-the-way scenic is to stay for a significant period of time. For Fairy Head, my average span is anywhere's from twelve to fourteen days, and that's not counting the two days it takes to hike in with the gear to set up,- tent, water purifier, food, photo equipment, etc. Bear in mind,- what goes in must come out. Because of the droughts that Maine has been experiencing over these years you will also have to carry in water. Prey that Maine isn't in the middle of a drought. There is no cellphone service,- thank god, and after three-to-four days, if you can't stand to be alone with your thoughts, DON'T go.Time
This particular composition was taken in June at 4:38 in the morning. I try to arrive at what I think might be a good sunrise / sunset location at least a half-hour before hand. As a rule, sunrises / sunsets don't linger; preparation is everything.Lighting
The lighting comes down to whatever Mother Nature is serving up. Sometimes I hit the jackpot and sometimes I don't. Other than "burning & dodging", the vast majority of the time, I DO NOT alter compositions,- add colors or anything else that wasn't there, at that moment. I'll cover my approach to this in the section dealing with post-processing.Equipment
The camera bodies that I used was the Pentax K3 with the smc Pentax DA* 16-50mm f2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM lens. Currently, I am using two SONY camera bodies, as well as four lenses. A tripod was used as well as a hand-held remote which takes the place of a shutter release. I can't remember if I'd used a polarizer.Inspiration
The love of the place and the moment. Fairy Head / the "Bold Coast",- it doesn't get any better than this.Editing
Yes, I do. Let me start with the software that I use, and then, what's more important, try to explain the objective. I use Photoshop to a very small degree, and an occasional "plug-in" to an even smaller degree. Adobe's Lightroom Is what I rely on for the vast bulk of my processing. It's amazing how much ADOBE keeps improving on it. As for how I use it, I try to capture the details in the dark / shadowy areas just enough, and ONLY enough for them to be noticed. I resist the temptation to blow out everything with color, especially if the scene at the time had atmospherics giving it something of an "other worldliness". Color is something like the "frosting on the cake". Composition is all important. If it's a good composition, it doesn't need a lot of "frosting". Or in other words, if you have crap and you add a lot of color to it, you end up with colored crap. Incidentally, for me at least, the proper depth-of-field in a composition is critical. Most photographers think they know how to control depth-of-field. They DON'T. I thank my lucky stars that I learned Photography when film and manual lenses were still in vogue.In my camera bag
Besides a great tripod, my camera "backpack" holds two camera bodies,- currently SONY, Flash cards, four lenses, polarizing filters, handheld remotes, cotton balls, Windex and industrial alcohol, a static-free brush, a small wrench and screwdriver for the tripod (If it ever becomes necessary), a level for the camera hot shoe to aid in horizons,- not all that necessary these days because the newer cameras have electronic levels in them. I'm sure there's something else that I'm forgetting. In addition, my "fanny Pack" contains water, a water purifying "straw", a pocket knife, a small flashlight, a headlamp, a compass and map, my own blend of trail mix and Kind Bars, a Bic lighter and some fire starters, an emergency device (sPot Gens), and a "trail checklist" that I go over before setting out for anywhere.Feedback
One,- learn how to MANUALLY operate you camera. I don't care how expensive or how good your camera is. There is no substitute for knowing what the hell you are doing. Two,- photograph what you love and "pay the price". Everything comes at a cost. Three,- pay attention to the work of other photographers who have the same passion for a subject that you do. Four,- look at ALL photography. No matter how bad you may think it is, see what you can pick out of it, all the same.
