NewZealand-100
Apr, 2017Views
68
Likes
Awards
Peer Choice Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Top Choice
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Behind The Lens
Location
My wife and I were on vacation in New Zealand, and this was the first evening of our trip! We were driving around Arakoa, a fascinating place on the South-East side of the South Island and we were finally heading down the mountain to our AirBnB (which was located in the small down at the edge of the water in the distance).Time
Just prior to sunset...the golden hour!Lighting
The lighting was really low and breaking through the clouds with some rays. There was obviously some post-processing involved!Equipment
Canon 6D, 16-35mm 2.8L, five exposures bracketed on a tripod.Inspiration
I loved the green grass with the low sun, the clouds, the water in the background, and the rolling geography.Editing
I did my HDR post-processing in Photomatix, with some touch-up in Photoshop to bring the sun through the tree. With the back-lit tree, post processing was required to get the detail of the wood in the tree to come out, as well as the rays of sun and the blue sky for contrast. Post processing is what made this photo come alive and become a real depiction of the shot I captured that night.In my camera bag
Canon 6D, 16-35mm 2.8L, 24-105mm 4.0L, 70-200mm 2.8L and a Mavic Pro.Feedback
Use a tripod! The post-processing required will make the shot start to look "fuzzy", so starting with the best aligned sharpest photo is essential. Another secret I like to leverage is to wear sunglasses during sunset to see what detail can be "seen" by the camera with an underexposed photo. This is especially important for shots of clouds or heavy HDR photos that allow you to dig into that detail.
