Cheddar Gorge
Cheddar Gorge, a shot I have been wanting for a long while. After hiking up the savage hill with all my camping gear, I chose my composition and left it alone f...
Read more
Cheddar Gorge, a shot I have been wanting for a long while. After hiking up the savage hill with all my camping gear, I chose my composition and left it alone for 2 hours to capture the frames I needed for this image. I knew exactly what I wanted from this shot, and it came out just how I visioned.
Read less
Read less
Jul, 2016Views
3941
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Inspiring Landscapes Photo Contest
Member Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Coast Or Inland Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in On The Road Photo Contest vol1
Featured
Runner Up in I Love The World Photo Contest
Summer Selection
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Categories
itsmemacld
July 19, 2016
Pretty fantastic! Keep pushing forward and keep posting. See you in a bit. Good luck!
robertpuig
August 12, 2016
A stunning image sure we will be seeing more from you soon keep up the good work.
AnnikaJM
August 13, 2016
Wow! So much to look at in this beautiful picture. Keep up the good work! Congrats on winning the contest!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on top of the cliffs at Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. The cliffs are a sheer drop down to that road, so it was rather scary to stand so close to the edge to set up. And even scarier letting my camera hang out to capture the road below! I'd set up tent up there as well, as it was a risky walk down in the dark, so I had the added benefit of spending the night in this wonderful location.Time
The photo was taken over a period of a couple of hours. I climbed the steep hill over rough terrain earlier in the afternoon to scout out the location, then after having my dinner did it again. I set up and captured my first few images around 8pm to make sure I have good composition and my focus was sight right. Once the sun had gone down a little, I fired off a few more to capture the nice light on the cliff face. I then waited till dusk time to capture the street lights, and after dark did a few long exposures for the car trails.Lighting
I really wanted that nice warm light making the cliff face glow. And of course I wanted a decent sky. Unfortunately, it wasn't looking promising once I got up there and set up. There was lots of cloud in the sky and the sun just wasn't coming through. I was sure my photo was going to come out dull. But as I had set up camp at the location, I left my camera on the tripod, opened a bottle of wine, grabbed my book and waited it out. Fortunately, right at the crucial moment when the sun was in the prime location, a few gaps appeared in the clouds and lit everything up beautifully!Equipment
Unfortunately I didn't have a lens wide enough for this shot to go with my D810, so I used my old D5200 along with my Sigma 10-20mm f3.5. As I was doing a long exposure, a Lee 10 stop, tripod and remote release were essential.Inspiration
The area is absolutely beautiful, and the road below it is stunning. I had great fun driving up and down it, and really wanted to capture all of this areas glory in one photograph. After a good hard look on Google maps I found a location that may be suitable, and fortunately I got it all right.Editing
This image required a fair amount of processing, but as I knew exactly what I wanted from the image it was an absolute joy to do and it all flowed nicely. I started off by using luminosity masks to soften the shadows in the cliffs. I then dodge and burned them and painted in a little bit more warmth from the sun. I then blended my long exposure sky in. Next was to blend in the light trails and street lamps. It was finished off by using a curves layer and selectively darkening down areas to draw the viewers eye where I wanted it... The cliff edge and the road below.In my camera bag
Too much! As a field engineer I get to travel around a fair amount, and my kit goes everywhere with me! I bought a Nikon D810 a few months back which I am absolutely blown away by, the image quality is second to none. To go with that I have a Sigma 24-105 f4. I also always have on my me trusty D5200, which despite being a entry level camera can still produce stunning images as this photo proves. For that I carry the Sigma 10-20mm. I also always carry the Sigma 150-600 (heavy lens, so not in my bag but always in the van!). Also all the accessories to go with: Cleaning cloths (a must!!), 10 stop, remote triggers, flash gun and a few other helpful bits and bobs.Feedback
My number one rule, get there early! This gives you plenty of time to check the area out, make sure your composition is good and have everything set up before the show begins. Nothing worse than having to rush around. Do your research. Check the area out on Google maps. Know where you're going before you get there. Check the weather. Capture a lot of images in different light. And bracket them so you have plenty of information to play with in post. Stick around after the sun goes down. I know too many photographers that leave as soon as the sun has gone. But often the best colours in the sky are after sundown. And sticking around gives you the chance to grab the street lights as well. But bear in mind for a shot like this, you can't move your camera once you've set it up! Blue hour can also offer some interesting shots that often look moody and mysterious. When doing your light trails, capture lots of them. Using just one, they come out a bit weak. Get a load of them and blend them all in, this really brightens them up and adds lots of impact. And finally, learn Photoshop. None of this would have been possible in Lightroom. This was all in the layers and blending modes. It's an intimidating bit of software, but there are plenty of great tutorials out there and it'll be worth your effort.
