Autumn Evening
Saltburn in the evening, taken from the pier
Saltburn in the evening, taken from the pier
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Oct, 2017Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Europe Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Promenades And Boardwalks Photo Contest
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, located in the North-East of England. The pier in Saltburn is the only surviving pier in Yorkshire, and was originally built in 1869. The Saltburn Cliff Lift is a local landmark as well, and is the oldest operating water-balance cliff lift in the world.Time
This image uses a technique Elia Locardi calls "Blending moments in time". The sunset was taken at around 5:30-6:00pm in order to capture the gorgeous colours in the clouds. I then hung around for another hour or so waiting for the lights to come on in the town and along the funicular railway.Lighting
I wanted to combine a lovely sunset with the lights in the town. Obviously I have no control over the lighting of any of the apartments or other buildings, and I have even less control of the sunset. This happened to be my first attempt in this location, but since I only live ten minutes away it's not much of a problem waiting for the perfect lighting. The only issue is that as this was taken at the weekend not as many lights are on in the buildings at the top of the cliff. If I'd been around during the week there probably would have been more house lights on. Sometime around Christmas probably would have included lots of Christmas lights too.Equipment
This was shot using a Canon 7D and a 16-35 f/4L IS. It was on a cheap tripod. The only other equipment was a decent windproof jacket since it gets windy at the end of a pier sticking out into the North Sea!Inspiration
My return to the UK inspired me! I've been living and working in China for the last nine years and came back in July. I realized what I've been missing, and even more so, what I've been missing on my own doorstep. I only took up photography whilst in China so I've never had a chance to look at the local area like this before. I've also been looking at a lot of different photographers' work and have really loved looking at all these blue/golden hour shots full of city lights. I felt like trying to combine this style with some architecture that to me has a lot of meaning. Saltburn is close to my heart as I went to school there, and I've lived in this area almost my entire life. The North-East of England has a lot going for it, but it seldom gets mentioned anywhere outside of the region. Anything I can do to help promote my local area!Editing
This image is actually a composite of about ten or eleven shots. There is an exposure that captured the sunset, and then a later blue-hour shot of the pier, cliff and other buildings. I then combined these with a couple of shots that had lights on in the windows, and then a number of light trails for cars going down Saltburn Bank. Lots of masking was involved, and then I used Nik Color Efex Pro to add contrast and tonality to the image. I also played around with the colours a little bit. For my RAW conversion I use Capture One Pro, and then Photoshop for everything else.In my camera bag
My current body is a Canon 7D, although this is going to be upgraded to a 5DIV soon. My go-to lens is the 16-35 f/4L IS lens, which is incredibly sharp. I also use the 70-200 f/4L for the odd portrait. If I need something a little faster I reach for either the 50 f/1.8 or the 85 f/1.8. I actually love both of these lenses and have a bit of a soft spot for that nifty-fifty. I love it! In my bag I also have an EOS-M with the 18-55 and 22 f/2 lenses. Lighting-wise I have a couple of Yongnuo 560 speedlites and a Canon 430EXIII. I usually use a decent Velbon carbon fibre tripod, although I had to leave it with a friend when I moved back to the UK. For the time being I'm using a cheap tripod I got from Amazon for about 20GBP (until I can get my proper one back!)Feedback
The weather in the North-East of England is fairly unpredictable, although if you manage to get a nice day it can be really nice. On the end of the pier you need to be prepared for a strong wind coming off the North Sea, which is one of the coldest, stormiest patches of water in the world. Wrap up warm! As for the shot itself, obviously it is vital that you lock off the camera on a sturdy tripod. Any movement at all and you end up ruining the shot (or at least making the post processing extremely difficult!). Be prepared to hang around a while if you are waiting for the lights to come on, and make sure you take plenty of shots. For this image I took a shot roughly every minute, giving me plenty to choose from once I got back to the studio. In post be prepared to play around and see what looks good. I love the Pro Contrast look from Nik Color Efex, but some people prefer other plugins and some people don't use any. Just play and see what you like the look of!
