nickeykolev
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo of Dessie, a friend of mine, while she was enjoying the view from the porch of the Cherepish Monastery, situated south of the city of Vratsa, not far from Sofia, Bulgaria. The Cherepish monastery is built in the 14th century, during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, nearing the Iskar river in beautiful old forest.Time
Our visit to the monastery was at the end of a whole day road trip in the area south of Vratsa, which is one of the so many scenery locations in Bulgaria. It was the last stop on our way home, so it should've been right before dawn.Lighting
During the spring, and autumn, the region is just amazing, as is a part of the so called Vrachanski Balkan - a national park in the western part of the Stara Planina mountain range. I remember, that we made this trip late autumn. Since the whole region is in the mountain range, in this time of the year it is a bit darker, a bit moody because of the colder weather, cloudy sky and frequent fogs. I love the region during this time of the year, as I can get such melancholic shots, as this one.Equipment
The image was shot with my very first DSLR camera - a Pentax K10 with the kit 18-55 lens. I just love this camera :)Inspiration
I have never been interested in portrait photography. I don't like to pose for photographs and I actually don't know what do I want from my subject in a portrait photo. But, I love taking photographs of people, while they do something. When they are the main subject, but are actually complimenting a scene, rather than the opposite. There is a story behind such photographs. Every time I look at this photo of Dessie, I keep wondering what is she thinking of, what makes her look so calm and peaceful. I hope that you also wonder about the same, while looking at the photograph!Editing
Usually in post-process I do all my tweaks manually. I don't use presets, as I think each separate photograph needs it's own, natural adjustment, because for me a photograph needs to tell it's own tale. When I process a photo, I'm trying to get into the atmosphere of the scene when I took the photo and always give it a little more :)In my camera bag
I took a long way from my first days with the Pentax! Now, I'm using a Nikon D610 as camera body, primarily shooting landscapes with a Tamron 15-30 as a wide lens and a 24-70 when I need a bit narrower scene. Along with the wide Tamron, I'm carrying a NiSi filter system with polarizer and soon-to-have ND and GND filters. Again recently I got an amazing wide-macro lens - the Laowa 15mm Macro. Soon I will show you guys in the Viewbug community what this super interesting lens can do :)Feedback
My advice - move really slow and quiet, so you don't disturb the subject! And then get her a nice cup of hot tea :)