"A Thousand Burned Out Yesterdays"
Jun, 2016Views
2485
Likes
Awards
Lucky 3 Award
Contest Finalist in Faceless Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Around the World Photo Contest By Discovery
Featured
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Relaxed
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank
Top 20 rank
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 2
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Roaches in Derbyshire, UK - a beautiful rocky escarpment favoured by climbers, hikers and free runners. It's a bit a trek to the top, especially with gear and tripod, but once there you're rewarded with stunning panoramic views. I've climbed in this location on a few occasions but it was my first time exploring as a photographer.Time
It was just around sunset at 9pm on a cool summer's evening and there was a storm rolling in. There wasn't much light or colour but just as the sun touched the horizon the clouds broke, revealing a bright, golden streak. All the climbers and hikers had gone home and it was quiet except for the wind and the occasional cries of foxes and buzzards. I sat there for a good long time just breathing in the view before setting up for the shot.Lighting
I shot in to the sun since this is where the best light was. I love the way the the sun highlights the edges of trees and rolling hills. Since it was windy and quite dark at this point I had to increase the iso a bit which resulted in a slightly noisier image which I was unhappy about initially but in retrospect I think it adds to the textures and mood.Equipment
This was shot with my Sony A7r2 and 16-35mm at 16mm on a RRS TVC-24 tripod. No filters were used, just a remote shutter release.Inspiration
This was my first attempt at a self portrait. I hadn't planned a self portrait initially but when I reviewed my initial shots I felt that having a person in the frame might help place the viewer in the scene with them.Editing
I merged several exposures. One for the sky and one for the main image using luminosity masks. I also used a separate shot for the foreground trees as they were moving a lot but luckily I managed to capture one with them still enough. I corrected white balance, dodged and burned to add some depth and finished off with a few targeted sunlight and centre light filters in Nik to enhance the light and focus the eye. Final process was some noise reduction.In my camera bag
As I'm only small and often hike long distances I try to travel as light as possible. I try to plan what I'm going to shoot before I set off to keep gear minimal. So my A7r2 comes with me with along with my 16-35mm in my Lowepro Flipside 400. Occasionally I'll have my 50mm or 70-200mm as well. Along with that is a Lucroit wide angle adaptor and filter holder and a range of Formatt Hitech NDs, grads and polariser. I have 3 spare batteries (the Sony eats through them), remote release, flask of tea (I'm British so a necessity!), snacks, maps and mobile phone.Feedback
Planning is useful. Make sure to plan where you're going to save time. Finding previous shots of the location on Viewbug or google can help with equipment planning and checking photo pills or ephemeris will show you the best time of day / night to be there. Weather apps will let you know roughly what conditions to expect but don't rely on them! On this occasion my weather app lied and said it was going to be relatively clear but when I got there it was overcast and flat - I was just very lucky with the light on this occasion and that's not something you can plan for entirely. Most importantly just go out and enjoy the experience. I'm never disappointed at having gone out and spent some time in nature, whether or not I come back with a useable shot.
