byronsheldrick

bsheldrick_20160818_1798

Pelee Island

Pelee Island
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Canon EOS 70D

settings

Aperture f/11 ISO 100 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 17/1

upload_date

Apr, 2017

Views

288

Likes

+12

Awards

Action Award

Top Shot Award 21

Peer Choice Award

Outstanding Creativity

+16

Top Choice

+10

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Peer Award

All Star

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Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at the northern end of Pelee Island. Pelee Island is the southern most point in Canada, just north of the Canada-US border which runs through Lake Erie at this point. Because of its location it is a mecca for migrating birds, and has a fantastic climate for growing grapes. There is an excellent winery on the Island. This is a shot of Lake Henry, which really isn't a lake, but more an area of the Island that was once farmland, but which became permanently flooded. It is only separated from Lake Erie by narrow strips of land, which in some places disappear completely. It is a wonderful marsh and wetland.

Time

This was taken at Blue Hour, just as the sun was setting and about to disappear behind the horizon. There is a road that runs past the lake, and eventually the road ends at a beach which you can walk to the northern most tip of the Island where there is lighthouse. I discovered this by accident, and every evening the sunset was so spectacular, that I knew I wanted to shoot it. Every evening the tones of red and blue, and the reflections in the lake, were simply spectacular.

Lighting

This was, of course, all natural light. The setting sun was simply brilliant, and the reflections in the lake were fantastic. As photographers we sometimes have to take what we are given, and this particular evening nature was in a very giving mood.

Equipment

I shoot with a Canon 70D. For this shot I was using a Sigma 17-50 lens. Aperture was set at f11 and I shot at 1/160th of a second.

Inspiration

I love taking landscape and nature photos. It is one of my passions. Indeed, I started photography to supplement my other interest, which is birding. So for me, there is nothing more inspiring than seeing a beautiful natural scene and trying to capture it and preserve it. This particular scene will never be exactly as I captured it on this day, and given the natural processes of erosion on Pelee Island, there may come a point where this particular location doesn't even exist in its current form. Being able to capture that through photography is pretty amazing

Editing

I tend to edit my photos relatively little. My goal is always to get the shot as close to how I see it in camera. So for this particular shot there was actually very little post-processing, besides adjusting the highlights and shadows a little bit, and playing around very minimally with saturation.

In my camera bag

So my bag is usually heavier than I'd like. Of course, it depends on what the purpose of the outing is going to be. My typical gear when I'm out and about on a hike would include a Sigma 70-200 f2.8, my Sigma 10-20 wide angle, and possibly my Canon 50m f1.4. I'll usually have some extension tubes for macro shots, and maybe my teleconverter. If I'm expecting to be birding I might include my Sigma 150-500, but the weight of that lens means that I usually think pretty carefully about whether I'm likely to be using it.

Feedback

My advice is always to take multiple shots. Experiment. Take the shot using a combination of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO that works for the conditions, but then play around with it. Change the aperture, adjust, and shoot it again. Never be content with just one shot, but also don't take 20 shots with the same settings. For landscapes, I always shoot in full manual mode. The great thing about landscapes is that the scene isn't going to run away. So you can take some time and explore your settings. Of course, as the sun is disappearing behind the horizon, you might want to hurry a little bit. When sunsets or sunrise, shots, get there about an hour early to get set up. Wait, and take a series of shots to get those great Golden Hour shots, but also to be ready for that magical blue hour. Find a good app that gives you sunrise and sunset times for your location. And for blue hour, remember, that even after the sun has set, there may still be some great shots waiting for you.

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byronsheldrick

byronsheldrick

bsheldrick_20160818_1798

Pelee Island

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow byronsheldrick

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