Sunset over Bingham Lake
We were looking for a spot but this lake doesn't have a lot of shore line. I just happened to push through the brush to find this spot and thought I'...
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We were looking for a spot but this lake doesn't have a lot of shore line. I just happened to push through the brush to find this spot and thought I'd try to frame the sun as it set behind the mountains on the front range of Colorado. It looked for a moment I would not have a sunset at all because of the clouds. Patience paid off.
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Jul, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Bingham Lake a few miles from where I live although it's still in the same town. Colorado has really large towns. Anyway, this is a place I was introduced by friend and fellow photographer John Ott.Time
As you can see, this is a sunset photo and I'm not 100% sure of the time of day since it has been a few years since taking this shot. I believe it was late summer or early fall so it was probably somewhere around 6:30-7:30pm mountain time.Lighting
I wanted to capture the sun before it set but not before it started to create amazing color in the clouds. I also wanted to try to create an image with a lot of dynamic range so I shot either 5 or 7 brackets, again I forget how many. With that many brackets, I'll typically space them one stop apart. I did this so I would not have a foreground buried in shadow. I also used a small aperture around f/16 or so to create the sunstar as it peeked out between the clouds and the Rocky Mountain mountain range in the distance. I was pretty happy with the results.Equipment
This image was captured with a Nikon D810 with the Nikon Nikkor 24-120 f/4 lens. I had this mounted on a Manfrotto 055xb PRO tripod with the Manfrotto 222 pistol grip ball head (not the best for landscape but usable).Inspiration
I had viewed images of this lake taken by a few local photographers and wanted to capture my own version of the lake. I have since taken many of which, this is NOT the best of the lot but fairly decent. I don't care for the algae floating on the water in the foreground. Anyway, we had a storm roll through and I was hoping that the clouds would give us a break and add some drama dot the sky. I wasn't disappointed. I also thought I could do better than some of the images I have looked at as well. I may have missed that mark but hey, I got the shot I was after... at least for that particular outing.Editing
I post processed this (who doesn't? If someone has an epic image and they tell you they didn't process it, more than likely they're not being very truthful) using Lr Classic. Not a ton. I stacked the bracketed frames using Lr HDR (I think, it could have been NiK HDR Pro though) and played with the saturation, sharpness, contrast and a few other sliders until its looked like what I saw with my own eyes.In my camera bag
I no longer shoot with Nikon but instead use Olympus. most of my recent posts on my page have been created with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II camera and a range of lenses. anything from the 7-14 f/2.8 PRO, 40-150 f/2.8 PRO, 45mm f/1.8 Premium and the 60mm f/2.8 premium lenses. Also carry a speed light and remote trigger incase a quick portrait opportunity presents itself. I will include a microfiber cloth, a Rocket blower, a couple of spare SD cards and spare batteries, for the camera and some for the flash trigger. The flash is a Li-ion battery that seems to last for ever so I only have the one in the flash for those shots.Feedback
Advice....hmmm... go out and play! Play with your aperture until you see the sunstar you want, play with your other exposer settings until you start getting your exposure where you want it. Next, bracket at least 3 frames if not more. If you only bracket 3 frames, make them two stops apart. Use a good HDR program such as Photomatix Pro 6 or Luminar. Play with your adjustment sliders until you get the results you think you want. Go back a few days later and see if if you still like it. If not, make a few more adjustments, if so, publish it! :) Enjoy creating your own sunstar sunset shots. Oh, one final item. Take two sets of the same shot, one holding your hand over the lens to block out the sun and flare (I didn't do that here) and a set without blocking the sun. After blending them together, take them into photoshop as layers and paint out your hand. The results are worth the extra few minutes in post production. Have fun!
