Reflections on Belsay Pond, Northumberland, UK
A beautiful peaceful location, a glorious sunset and reflections in a mirror-like pond. Read more about it by clicking the BTL (behind the lens) logo....
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A beautiful peaceful location, a glorious sunset and reflections in a mirror-like pond. Read more about it by clicking the BTL (behind the lens) logo.
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Apr, 2018Views
1935
Likes
Awards
Winner in #Treelife Photo Challenge
Action Award
Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in Tall Trees Photo Contest
Community Choice Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Virtuoso
Superior Skill
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
PRO+
PRO+
kclofty
January 23, 2022
Great color, light and composition! A favorite in my 2nd Most Viewed challenge.
PRO+
PRO+
Platinum
patrickwhalen_0122
Feb 29
Fantastic Photo showing the true beauty of trees and their wonderful reflection stories! Congratulations on this wonderful award from Patrick Whalen iPhone 13 Photographer and Printing Services
Platinum
PRO+
Plum148
Feb 29
Congratulations on your win in Tree Life Photo Challenge! Great capture and reflections.
PRO+
Ultimate
PRO+
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken at Belsay Pond, Northumberland, UK which is within the grounds on the way into Belsay Castle - the trees are spectacular and when the pond is still it is amazing.Time
I arrived at the location about an hour before sunset, it was quite breezy and there were ripples on the pond, and as the sun started setting, the wind just dropped. I was the only one at the location, just me and nature - the changing colours was fascinating. It was taken on 30th April 2018 at 20:26.Lighting
The gradient of the sky was perfect, the blues slipping into the orange. I took this photo at f/9.0 17mm 1/200 sec ISO200 which allowed me quite a short exposure time, but being enough to catch the tranquillity of the evening sky.Equipment
Canon 6D, Canon EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens. No flash, no filters used. This was on a tripod at a height to allow the top of the trees and the reflections to be captured.Inspiration
A couple of years ago when I started this hobby (which has become a bit more of an obsession!) I'd seen this photograph taken by someone else, and it took me about nine months to actually find out where it was! I kept promising myself to go there, and I'm in a small photography group where our monthly for fun challenge was 'mirror, mirror' and I thought this would fit the brief perfectly, so on the last day of the month I managed to finally get there and what a fantastic evening it was. I stayed an hour beyond sunset and although it was the end of April, the temperature got down to only 1 degree Celsius so I gave up when my lens started freezing / misting over!Editing
I found it really difficult to choose my favourite shot - I was so excited about the great conditions and how perfect it was I took about 150 shots! In editing this image afterwards I increased the exposure and contrast very slightly, brought the highlights down and the shadows up. I upped the clarity, dehaze and vibrance sliders a tiny bit, but didn't have to do much at all with the colours as they were great from the start.In my camera bag
I like to carry 2 camera bodies with me, (Canon 6D and 6D mkII) one with a wide angle lens Canon EF17-40mm f/4L USM, and one with a zoom one on (Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM). That way if I can capture most of the range. I also like to have my everyday lens (Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM) with me. On this occasion I wanted to capture the full scene, and it was tricky trying to get the height of the tripod right and get both the trees and the reflections in so I used my widest lens at it's widest focal length.Feedback
If you love this image and would like to capture something similar, the trick is to make sure you're there in plenty of time and that you have plenty of time! I wanted to be there for sunset at around 20:30, so I arrived at 19:30 and left at around 22:00 and I loved every minute and managed to get my dream shot - you might not get the conditions or timing right the first time so do your research beforehand or be prepared to go again at a later date! Have plenty of battery power available, especially if it's going to be cold and a flask with hot drinks doesn't go amiss!!! Don't regret not taking a particular lens or tripod (I was heading there by car so was able to leave the gear I wasn't using at the time in the car nearby), I'd have been so disappointed if I hadn't had my 17 - 40 with me or my tripod. Finally - be prepared to expect the unexpected - after I took this shot a swan landed on the pond and I was able to get some photographs of that too! and most of all enjoy what you do and enjoy the moment of being with nature at its most beautiful.
