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Peaceful...
A pile of stones, just found in an Austrian lake, August 2019.
Camera: Sony A7iii
Lens: Sony 24-240mm
Edited: PixLR
Date; 20...
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A pile of stones, just found in an Austrian lake, August 2019.
Camera: Sony A7iii
Lens: Sony 24-240mm
Edited: PixLR
Date; 2019-08-06
Read less
Camera: Sony A7iii
Lens: Sony 24-240mm
Edited: PixLR
Date; 2019-08-06
Read less
Apr, 2020Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo during a one week vacation in Austria in 2019. During that vacation my brother and I decided to visit some lakes in the vicinity of our residence Flachau to see if there would be something beautiful to photograph. I found this pile of stones in a beautiful lake called 'Grundlsee'.Time
Although we always start our day trips early and it was only an hour and a half drive from Flachau to Grundlsee, this photo was taken just after noon (around 1 pm, European time. And it was the 6th of August by the way). The reason is that we choose a direction and places to visit on a particular day in advance, but we never know when, at what time or if we will get there. In short, there was a lot to see along the way; picturesque villages, babbling rivers, rattling waterfalls, mountains reaching up to heaven and ... so also these kind of cool mountain lakes.Lighting
The light was not particularly good that day. Although it was over 30 degrees Celsius, there was a light gray cloud cover in front of the high sun. After some trying, I decided to go for a more close-up photo. I hoped to be able to get even more out of it that way, because the photos before it always seemed a bit pale. For that I got down on my knees right on the edge of the waterfront, so that I could hold my camera just above the water (long live the tilting display on the back of my camera!). For the aperture I chose f/4.5 and the shutter speed slightly increased to 1/640 sec. With this, the piles of stones, the grass on the left in the photo and the shallow part of the water in the front became sharp and the background a bit blurred. And with the somewhat higher shutter speed, I knew that I would not have any problems with moving the camera, because on your knees on the waterfront, with holding your expensive camera just above the waterline and looking at a display during daylight, everything was not that easy. While taking this photo, I immediately knew that with editing at home I could make the stacks of stones stand out even more.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Sony a7iii and a Sony 24-240mm f/3,5-6,3 OSS lens, which I have since 2018. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
There are times when I find out in advance where to photograph something interesting. Then it is something specific such as recently when a number of old fighter jets were removed from a depot for a few days, because another aircraft had to be taken out from that same depot for restoration. Or, for example, there is an event in the city where I live that I would like to photograph. In addition, I also often just go out on spec and see what beautiful things pass by. Especially when I go out with my brother, we never know what that is. These are fun moments! When my brother and I were at this lake (Grundlsee, Austria) during our vacation in 2019, I decided to look a little further to see what else there was to be found. He stayed more with the car to take his pictures there. After some walking I saw a beautiful girl on the waterfront taking pictures. However, I could not see what she photographed because the road was much higher than the shoreline of the lake. I was intrigued what she saw there that was apparently so interesting to take pictures of it. Also because it was not an easy location, so she would have had to put in quite a bit of effort to get there. When I walked back past that place a little later, I decided to have a look. What had she seen now? It turned out to be these stacked stones. I immediately understood why she had gone to all the trouble. It was simply too good to pass up!Editing
I edit almost all my photos with the program 'PixLR'. This can be used online or downloaded to your computer. It is a free program, with a lot to do with it. And since the new version that was released (I think) at the beginning of this year (2020) you can also work very professionally with it, such as in layers, with masks, white balance, colors, texts, you name it. However, it can only be used in combination with jpeg files. I like the simple way you can work with it and the large amount of options to adjust your photos. In itself, I actually didn't adjust this specific photo that much at all. Of course first made a nice cut-out. Then I applied a little bit more shadow and black and then I added some extra 'highlights'. This makes the foreground stand out even more in my opinion. Personally, I often like a frame around a photo, so for this one I added a fading, slightly dark border. And finally I put my name on the picture with the same program PixLR.In my camera bag
In my bag I only have a Sony a7iii camera and a Sony 24-240mm f/3,5-6,3 OSS lens... and an extra battery and some extra memory cards. Nothing more. Besides that I also have a tripod of the brand Vanguard, but I don't use that often. I hope to purchase an extra lens someday that is especially well suited for portrait and model photography. That is something I want to do more. But I have to save a lot for that first and since I recently lost my job because of COVID-19, I think it will take a while...Feedback
When my father was alive, he always said to me: "Open your eyes, look around ... there is always something beautiful to discover!" I think he knew what he was talking about, because he was a painter and draftsman. And gradually I am also going to agree more and more. If you take a good look around you, there is always something interesting to see to photograph. Wherever. If it is not a wide landscape, it is a close-up of something. Or, something like a pile of rocks on the water's edge of a lake ... So you really just have to keep your eyes open and look around! And expect the unexpected. ;-) This certainly applies to this photo. If I hadn't looked at that girl, wondered why she was taking pictures there, I certainly would never have found these stones. Maybe a nice tip; what regularly helps me and my brother to find beautiful, fun and interesting photo spots is the navigation in your car. Find a place or location in advance where you know that there is something beautiful to find. Set your navigation accordingly, but set the 'shortest route' on your navigation and also use the 'avoid highways' option. It has already brought us to the most unexpectedly beautiful places. Sometimes we don't arrive at the planned location at all, but that doesn't matter ... we just go there again via a different route.
