Lone tree on Llyn Padarn
This photo was taken a few minutes after sunrise at Llyn Padarn Llanberis North Wales. I was going to have breakfast, but as soon as I saw the clouds I knew wha...
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This photo was taken a few minutes after sunrise at Llyn Padarn Llanberis North Wales. I was going to have breakfast, but as soon as I saw the clouds I knew what I had to do. And the best part, the water was dead flat
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Dec, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken Llyn Padarn which is in Llanberris North Wales UK. I usually visit this location at least once a month and almost always come away with a good image, unless it's raining and blowing a gale that is.Time
This is a pre dawn shot which is my preferred time to shoot sunrise. I find that often this is the best time to shoot as the wind more often than not is very still which allows for good reflections on the still water. Also the colours tend to be more saturated.Lighting
I was hoping for a little more high cloud above the tree, the sky above it I feel a little too bland/empty. There is a little bit of very fine wispy cloud with a fine magenta hew but was hoping for better.Equipment
For this shot I used a Canon 5d sr and a Canon 24-70 f/2.8, a Manfotto carbon fibre tripod and a basic ball head. The camera was fired via a cable release.Inspiration
I had seen this image many times by other photographers and immediately knew I had to try this for myself. It is a very popular spot for photographers from all over the UK so you have to get there super early to get a good advantage point. As mentioned earlier, I visit this lake at least once a month, conditions allowing as often the lighting can be very dramatic with moody sky's etc. I'm still trying to get that one perfect shot but mother nature is often a beast to contend with.Editing
I tend not to do an awful lot of processing as I'm not very good at it. Usually I just hit the auto button in light room and, only then set about fine tuning exposure, shadows,highlights and contrast etc. I'm not a big fan of spending hours on the computer messing around with luminosity masking combined with bracketed exposures. Don't get me wrong, I always do bracketed shots but it's very rare I go to the trouble of blending etc.In my camera bag
I now use a Sony A7R iii and my goto lens is usually the Canon 24-70 mounted via a Metabones adaptor. I also have a Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM and a Sony 70-200 f/4 and that's all I need for the work I do. My other equipment is a dji Mavic air ii, a GoPro hero 7 Black. I often have a King Joy travel tripod as it's so small and light to carry up mountains. A power bank for my GoPro and another Power bank for my Sony. I have the Lee filter system and polariser. I also carry a lens warmer and various torches if out doing astro and light painting. I almost always carry a flask of coffee, snacks, first aid kit and spare clothing just incase the weather turns nasty.My very day, shoot anything, walk about camera is the Sony RX10. I love that thing as it's so versatile and light, and to be honest, If I go wild camping involving a big hike up a mountain, the RX10 comes into its own and at 69 years old, it's enough to be carrying with all the camping gear, food and water etc to last for two days.Feedback
As a predominantly landscape photographer, planning is essential, especially the weather forecasts. I always check the BBC forecast, and the App "Clear Outside" but most importantly "the mountain forecast". Too often I have climbed to the top of a mountain carrying a heavy load only to find out that the weather is not always going to be as predicted so you have to be prepared for anything. I look up Google earth to find a location I'm interested in and go from there. Once I've set up camp, I'll scout around for possible compositions and then it's a matter of patients, waiting for the right time and the right light. Sunset and sun rise are my favourite times to shoot but,,during the day anything can happen. I once miss the chance of photographing a Golden Eagle because my camera was in my bag. Lesson learned, I now carry it on a belt clip just incase.
