Chateau de Chambord - the golden hour
A reworking of an old image of the Chateau reflected in the waters during the golden hour before sunset. I'd hung around for about 45 minutes waiting for t...
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A reworking of an old image of the Chateau reflected in the waters during the golden hour before sunset. I'd hung around for about 45 minutes waiting for the light to drop! This is a 3-shot HDR
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Aperture f/8 ISO 500 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 2200000/100000 
Jun, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Chateau de Chambord, which is in the Loire Valley in France. This image is an HDR - a combination of 3 images which have been tone-mapped in Lightroom and Photoshop.Time
This is one of my favourite images, and great memory of a fantastic holiday. I'd been walking round the grounds of the chateau for most of the afternoon, and by the time I got here I knew what type of picture I wanted to take: the golden hour, where the light becomes soft and I knew the reflections would be fantastic.Lighting
The lighting was all natural: I'd waited for over 45 minutes, sitting on the edge of the canal (there are staged seats) for the light to change to that gorgeous golden hue just before the sunset. I knew that the low angle of the sun would light the building beautifully, and give a good reflection in the canal.Equipment
This was taken with a Canon 7D with my favourite lens of that time: the 17-55 f2.8, and I had the camera on a tripod. No other lighting was required.Inspiration
This is one of my favourite chateau in the Loire Valley, and I've visited it several times but hadn't always had a decent camera with me or I was in a rush. On this day, I took my time walking around the chateau and the grounds because I knew that I wanted to get a golden hour photo of this magnificent building. I also knew that it might be some time before I went back again, because my son (who lived nearby at that time) was going to move to another country.Editing
I combined the three images that I'd taken using the HDR facility in Lightroom; I've adjusted clarity and used a brush with dehaze setting on the sky to enhance the clouds, and then used a slightly higher setting on dehaze for the reflection. Apart from that, I've done very little: increased contrast slightly and boosted shadows as this was taken late afternoon on a warm and sunny October day.In my camera bag
Because I was on holiday, I was travelling light: my Canon 7D, a 17-55 f.28 and a 70-200 f4. I'd also brought my tripod with me.Feedback
The best time to get this view of the chateau is in the late afternoon, just before sunset. I've been before, at other times of year, and the autumn light is always stunning.
