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rhuffsmith
August 11, 2020
The gate keeper is steadfast and strong, younger looking but still well into it's 50's. Such a tree is not like the evergreens behind it as this one marks the passage point through which many a Cowboy has passed over the years.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
A mountain road traverses and climbs up through a saddle where the road reaches the assent and starts a descent. It is there off to the north where this open gate allows entrance to a ranch full of history in the community of Loveland Colorado. As you can see from the double signature, this image is a "untitled" post of a previously titled post. The title is "gate keeper".Time
The time of day was 3:30 pm on a winter day just an hour before sunset.Lighting
The snow storm had lifted but the overcast remained. This are my favorite conditions to capture outside images. The main reason is that the light is diffused and softer. Tones are evened out and with different exposures they can be richer.Equipment
This image was taken with a medium format DSLR Conon Rebel however I switched to a full format Nikon D810. I have practiced the art and craft of photography for the last 47 years and come from a time when we exposed film and developed it. Back in the day my camera of choice was a Nikon F3 HP, Hint that was before auto focus lenses. Back then a photographer depended more on the equipment then they did on the processing.Inspiration
This image and the others of that day was excited by the weather. I have always felt that dramatic weather congers up dramatic photography. However in this image the story of the "Gate Keeper" i.e. the tree beside the open gate, signifies the time span of the gates existence in this place. Also the foggy overcast and setting sun diffused lighting conditions make the background of the pine trees just a hint of what might be beyond the gate on the ranch in the alpine zone of Colorado.Editing
The post processing was a series of Lightroom and Photoshop mostly in the range of encasement for sharpness and softness adjusting the sliders in "Presence" with Texture, clarity, and dehaze and then softening it up with Noise reduction luminance, detail, contrast, color, more detail and smoothness. In Photoshop I used Filter-stylize-diffuse and selected Anisotropic.In my camera bag
The other equipment I carry in my bag includes multiple lenses from wide angle zoom AF-S 16-35mm 1.4 G ED, AF-S 24-120mm 1.4 G ED and AF-S 200-400 mm 1.4 G sometimes with a TS_14E III 1.4 X teleconverter. I also use a RFN4s plug in wireless shutter release while mounting the camera on a sturdy "Zomei" tripod. I also carry a Nikon Speedlight SB 910 strobe flash and an assortment of Neutral density filters and polarizing filters.Feedback
I talked with a precious stone cutter that said "he had to be in the right mood" to cut a precious stone of such great value, if not he would wait for another day. Taking that to heart I programed myself to get excited every time my camera came out of the bag. I started the secession with cleaning the camera and lenses, choosing the right set up for the occasion, checking my settings twice and pre-flight on the entire process like a singer warming up for a concert. Once the creativity is flowing off we go into this wonderful world for the documentation of Gods creation.
