The Good Shepherd @ Tekapo
This is one of the most photographed churches in New Zealand. Once I had outlasted all the other photographers-tourists and nearly getting blown away with "...
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This is one of the most photographed churches in New Zealand. Once I had outlasted all the other photographers-tourists and nearly getting blown away with "bad" weather... I thought it would create a nice "moody" black & white image. There was one lighter patch of cloud that I thought would highlight the church more, so I waited for it to move across... it wasn't perfectly placed, but it was good enough for me to work with in post.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture 11/1 ISO 160 Shutter 1/100 Focal Length 24/1 
Tekapo, Canterbury, NZ
Oct, 2016Views
724
Likes
Awards
Winner in Small chapels and churches Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
Categories
PRO+
Platinum
kiwidragonfly
March 06, 2017
Hahaha I did wonder how you appeared to have the place all to yourself. Wonderfully captured & I love the monochrome.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The Good Shepherd Church, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.Time
This was taken and what should have been sunset, but given the snow, rain, and clouds it was definitely not the "Golden hour" most would expect.Lighting
Ok, yes this is a processed image so please bear this in mind. This is an image taken with natural lighting, but waiting for the lighter clouds to move to behind the church (while also waiting for the other photographers/tourists to leave) was a gamble that paid off.Equipment
This was taken with my somewhat-beaten-up Canon 5D Mk III, the 24-105 F4L IS (Mark 1), and my tripod. I've done many landscape shots hand-held, but using a tripod will often result in sharper images. Unless there's a reason I can't use a tripod, I'd highly recommend using one.Inspiration
I saw other amazing photos of this church when doing research for our trip, so I added Lake Tekapo into our itinerary. I shouldn't have been surprised by the number of tourists at the church, even in miserable conditions. There were all kinds of folks there, from photography tour groups, to drone flying individuals, in addition to the many other people just sight-seeing and locals walking their dog. My intent was to take an HDR shot to maximise the contrast in the clouds, and bring up some more details in the surprisingly high amounts of dynamic range between some dark clouds, and snow-capped peaks in the background. Initially, I was torn between doing a colour shot to bring out the colour of the foreground grasses, the blue lake behind, but I felt those distracted me from the drab grey stone church, which of course, was the subject. It certainly didn't say, "Come to chuch and be enlightened"... it implied that the church was less interesting than the world around it. Which is a P.R. problem with many Chuches. So I went for the texture shot with light behind the church.Editing
I merged 5 images at different exposures into the HDR shot using Photomatix, then used the NIK software Silver Efex Pro (If you use Photoshop/Lightroom and don't have Nik software, download it for free from Google) to convert it to a mild sepia tone, then added a mild vignette.In my camera bag
Honestly, "normally" is a tough one, since I have a few bags, all geared toward different styles of photography. Aside from my SLR, I'd always encourage people to dress/prepare for all weathers. Regardless of my "bag of the day", you'll always find a handful of CHARGED batteries, EMPTIED memory cards, and CLEAN micro fibre cleaning cloths. For general shooting, I love my 24-105 lens. A 50 & 85mm prime lens is always handy light-weight addition for low light. A flash on a small Gorrillapod tripod is also extremely handy. Some filters (polarizer, neutral density filters, and attachment rings/holders can get some amazing results). A pocketable "compact" camera as a backup/lighter alternative is also extremely useful, and great for candid shots at weddings, or on long hikes. For wildlife, I love my 100-400, or 400mm prime lenses. However, depending on the size of your subjects, and the distance... it's a pretty safe bet you will wish you had more zoom in general, a wider angle, or more focal length than you have. The trick with photography is to gear up in the right way for the task, and the right amount for you to carry. However, the best equipment is the stuff behind the camera. Without seeing, imagining, and thinking your shot through before you press the shutter, the gear is pointless.Feedback
This was taken in windy, miserable, cold weather. It rained/sleeted for 10 minutes just before I shot this. Prepare for the weather, but not just that, prepare for just standing still in that weather! Cold hands make it hard to set up quickly! Insect bites distract you from making intelligent photography decisions. So be prepared! Popular landscape sites are often made more difficult by the others doing exactly what you're doing when shooting. You often have to wait it out, or try another time. Please note that other photographers are just as aware of the golden hours as you are, and are more likely to see them during the better times. I have found that just being patient and talking to your fellow photographers is a great start, and many are happy to finish what they're doing and get out of your way. Walking around your subject before "claiming" a spot is often beneficial. You might see a more interesting angle than the obvious one. A lot of people were shooting the church closer in, or from further out, or from the foot path. I'm sure each had their benefits and drawbacks. I felt that including the grasses in the foreground while keeping the church to the right of the snow-capped mountains in the background was useful. Timing can be important! I did my setup for the subject, but waited for the more dynamic opportunities. Whether that's the last tourist moving out of your shot, or identifying where the clouds will move in a few minutes (as in this case), A useful app for iPhones is "The Photographers Ephemeris" which helps you to figure out natural lighting, time and direction of sunrise, sunset, moon rise, shadow lengths, etc. based on your position. Using this with weather information, and my own observations was very helpful in this case. Think through the entire process....the time of day/year, the subject, think about the background and subject, how would you want to shoot this so they interact well with each other? When traveling, discovering mistakes after the fact means that might not be able to redo it. So develop a mental checklist/habit for ensuring all of your settings (including auto/manual focus) are what you think they should be at the time. Mine is W.H.I.M.S.A.Y (precheck) M.I.S.A.R (for on location) Yes, Whimsay Misar is weird, but I remember it) W - White Balance H - Histogram/Highlight blinkies are turned on (that's my technical term for it) I - Image stabilisation (VR/OS/whatever you call it) M - Metering Mode (Spot/Matrix/Evaluative, etc) S - Shooting speed (Single, rapid fire) A - Autofocus on/off/right mode and right focal points? Y - Yes, the gear works, and I've checked the above (a test shot or two, will tell you if your card is missing/full, or if the batteries are flat) M - Mode (Aperture Priority, Manual, Shutter Priority, etc) This is useful if you don't have a locking button on your mode dial! I - ISO S - Shutter Speed A - Aperture R - Result Check. ("chimping", or looking at the shot you've taken) Also stands for Recompose/Re-take if needed. I hope this helps! Happy shooting!
