Rage
Dec, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at a small community park in Jacksonville, North Carolina. There is a gazebo built on the water there with this small fishing pier extending out from it into the New River.Time
This was was pretty much as serendipitous as it gets. About an hour before sunset, I had been browsing the internet for nearby places to take photos when I stumbled onto this place. I asked my wife if she wanted to go take in a sunset with me while I took some photos and she agreed. There was no sense of urgency or any kind of plan at all. We each simply grabbed a sweatshirt, I threw my gear in the car, and it just so happened that I ended up getting my tripod and camera set up on this pier right as the sun set and the sky lit up. I couldn't have planned it better.Lighting
Looking back, I wish I'd have bracketed this. The range is just too big for a single exposure. When I tried to rework it later in Lightroom, I was never very satisfied with the amount of detail I wound up losing trying to remove the noise that was created when I pulled up the shadows.Equipment
The whole thing was done with a Canon 5D mk III and 24-70mm f2.8L sitting on a Sirui tripod.Inspiration
A beneficent muse? Seriously, I'd like to take credit for planning this perfectly, but it was really just sheer luck and coincidence.Editing
The basics - pulled up the shadows, brought down the highlights, added some contrast, etc.In my camera bag
That depends on what I'm doing. When I go out to shoot landscapes, I usually carry my 5D, a 24-105mm f4L (this replaced my 24-70mm after an upsetting incident in Carlsbad Caverns), remote shutter release, tripod, and several batteries. For street and journalistic stuff, typically I'll just have my 5D with 50mm and 85mm primes, along with an extra battery and several memory cards.Feedback
Where to begin... This is not one of my favorite images. It's ironic that it's one of my most popular because if I had it to do all over, I'd change a lot. Luck only carries you so far. Being prepared with gear and knowledge will trump good fortune any day, so my best advice would be to plan your shoot. Beyond that, the only thing I'd recommend is to not get so caught up in the photography that you forget to soak in the experience. Sunsets like these are few and far between around here, and I was really glad that my wife was there to sit and watch it with me. Sometimes missing out on the perfect shot is worth setting aside your gear and simply taking in the moment. You may never get the chance again.
