ashokbaker

Mountain Range Reflected in Lake

A mountain range in the southern Lake District is reflected in a still lake on a crystal clear day.

A mountain range in the southern Lake District is reflected in a still lake on a crystal clear day.
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NIKON D5000

settings

Aperture f/7.1 ISO 250 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 240/10

upload_date

Jul, 2017

Views

138

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Behind The Lens

Location

This shot was taken at Blea Tarn, which is in the south of the Lake District, Cumbria, UK. We were actually there with a band to take some promotional shots of them in the countryside. We wanted a striking backdrop for the images, so the Lake District was the obvious choice - it's an hour away from where we all live, and it's a stunning part of the country. When we first arrived in the middle of nowhere, this was literally across from the car park (I say car park, it was just a rectangle of dirt we could park in). We had travelled there in two cars, and we were waiting for the rest of the band to show up in the other car - turned out they had gotten massively lost. So while we waited we snapped some shots of the immediate area. I didn't know before what a tarn actually was; it's a small mountain lake. So this is Blea Tarn, a small mountain lake with a mountain inside it.

Time

It was 09:16 in the morning on a Saturday. It was a perfect day and there was nobody around. We'd left early so we could get a full day of shooting in. Think we left home at around 07:30, arrived at the location just before 09:00, then left the Lake District it around 5 in the afternoon. It was a great day.

Lighting

The lighting was all natural. It was a glorious day. I don't think there was a cloud in the sky all day. It was definitely a day that needed an ND filter though - when the sun was that clear and that bright, when going for something with a more narrow depth of field it's essential for bringing the brightness down. However for this shot I just lowered the ISO and upped the shutter speed to 1/500.

Equipment

Nikon D5000, Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens - that's it! I had a monopod with me but I took it off to get the angle I wanted.

Inspiration

The scenery itself. I'm proud of this picture because I turned to look at the tarn, saw how stunning it was, and thought "I need to capture this". The reason I'm proud is because the picture I took recreates what I saw, and how it made me feel looking at it - a sense of calm and awe.

Editing

I usually post-process all my digital shots. 35mm film I try to leave untouched with the exception of unwanted blemishes as that's what I think sets it apart from digital as this physical, tactile, warts-and-all format; but in my head digital shot are there to be manipulated. With the control Camera RAW gives you, why not use it? I used Lightroom to edit - this was one of the first times I'd actually used it as I'd always been a Photoshop user, and someone told me I should give Lightroom a go because of how intuitive it was and control it gave you over the colours and look of the image. I'm a huge fan now. With this shot I put a gradient mask on the sky, and accentuated the blues of the lake and sky. I also pushed up the earth tones to contrast. The colours almost suggest a Wild West locale rather than the Lake District, but I just wanted to embellish on what was there that day, rather than manipulate it into something else. There was a small stone in the bottom right of the image that I brushed out as I felt it distracted the eye, and made the whole shot look cleaner. Other than that it was just standard stuff - bump the contrast, knock down the saturation but up the vibrancy.

In my camera bag

I don't have the best equipment. I would love to upgrade my gear massively but I have a mortgage and a child (with another on the way) so that takes priority. But, while I would love to upgrade to a Canon 5D mk IV or a Panasonic GH5 (and any generous benefactors are welcome), the thing I always tell myself is "it shouldn't matter what gear you have, just take good photos." And that is true. That's why the phrase "all the gear, no idea" exists. Still doesn't stop me dreaming though! My digital load-out is the Nikon D5000, a kit lens 18-55mm, and a Nikon 55-200mm zoom lens. I also stock a Nikon F-mount to M42 mount adaptor so I have the option to attach one of my vintage lenses if I want to. The Carl Zeiss Jena Jenazoom II 70-210mm is an incredible vintage lens, and in some cases will attach that over the digital zoom I have. Outside of that, I have a raft of old 35mm film cameras that I've inherited, so usually I have one of those on hand with a couple of reels of film too. My favourite is the Olympus OM20 with the Zuiko 50mm, and an Optomax 28mm lens.

Feedback

When you're trying to shoot incredible scenery, let it do the work. All you need to do is capture what makes it incredible. Is it the colours? The scale? The shape? Adjust your shot accordingly to make sure whatever it is, can be allowed to shine. So taking my shot, it was the scale and the colour for me that made it impressive, along with the perfect reflection in the tarn. So I lined up the reflection, made sure I was wide enough to capture the scale of the range (I think it was taken at 24mm), and then when it came to the colours I emphasised those in post. There's no need to overthink or be too clever with a shot of something like beautiful scenery that's been forged over thousands of years. If you come in thinking about what you can do to show off your own abilities rather than show off the thing you're shooting, you'll miss it.

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ashokbaker

ashokbaker

Mountain Range Reflected in Lake

A mountain range in the southern Lake District is reflected in a still lake on a crystal clear day.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow ashokbaker

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