Alligators Present
I shot this image on a small jetty in Florida, with an Alligator paddling around the fence.
I shot this image on a small jetty in Florida, with an Alligator paddling around the fence.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this image on a small jetty on 'Old Lake Davenport' near Kissimmee, Florida. My intention was to take some photos of the sunset. Unfortunately, I was a little late, and the sun was already gone. But the colors in the have been so beautiful, so I tried to get some images that reflect the mood.Time
It was just after the sun has gone down behind the trees. I had to be very patient during the series of images because the jetty I stood on was a floating device and every step resulted in a blurry photo. So I had to wait before each series of images, until all movement of the jetty had stopped and that I didn't cause any further shaking. Several attempts to take a proper shot were ruined by other visitors who came down to the lake on this pier. The exact time of my mid-exposure was 2013-05-22 08:30:43 PM.Lighting
I took five brackets (-2; -1; 0; 1; 2) of this scene to get a good dynamic range for further post processing. The f-stop for all images was f/11 and the time of the mid-exposure 2.5 seconds.Equipment
Camera: Nikon D600; Lens: Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8; Tripod: Manfrotto Manfrotto MK294A3 with ball head 469RC2; Trigger: Promote Control camera remote.Inspiration
First of all: the sky! The colors have been so amazing that evening, and I tried to show them as I have seen them. The other thing was, that while I have taken my photos, there was an Alligator paddling around the pier ;).Editing
For the post-processing, I did lens correction and spot removal in Lightroom (v. 4.4) before I tone mapped the five brackets in Photomatix Pro (v. 4.2.7). I prefer to get a very flat/even exposed image out of the tone mapping process. The resulting image file was stylized with onOne's Perfect Effects from the version 7.5 of their suite.In my camera bag
The D600 is now my backup camera, as I switched to a Nikon D750. But the lenses are pretty much the same: Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8; 70-200mm f/2.8; 50mm f/1.8 and my (all purpose) travel zoom 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6. My current tripod is a Feisol Classic Carbon 3401 Rapid with Sirui K-20X ball head. The options for bracketing offered by the D750 made the use of the Promote Control, I have utilized for this shot, nearly complete obsolete. But it is still useful for taking bracketed shots in dark conditions, as it switches the camera automatically from manual to bulb mode, for longer exposures (> 30 sec.), if necessary.Feedback
My intention for this location was to take some sunset pictures of the lake, which I did. But as I stepped back I realized that the worn fence and the old warning sign would give some good foreground elements and enhance the storytelling for this image. What I learned here was, to be more aware of my surroundings and not only to focus on the photo I have previously envisioned in my head.
