Ninh Binh, Vietnam
An area of limestone mountains with flar rice fields and wide slow rivers. A hard walk to the top is rewarded by amazing views....
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An area of limestone mountains with flar rice fields and wide slow rivers. A hard walk to the top is rewarded by amazing views.
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OLYMPUS E-M1MarkII
Aperture f/5 ISO 200 Shutter 1/100 Focal Length 23/1 
Ninbinh, Ninh Binh, VN
Sep, 2020Views
31
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Awards
Action Award
Judge Favorite
Top Shot Award 21
Spring 21 Award
Treasure Award
Legendary Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken on location in Vietnam.Time
It was mid morning and the weather was not great, misty, lots of light rain. That added to the atmosphere but drowned the shot of colour until I saw the lanterns.Lighting
Rain and mist somewhat flattened the shot, almost obscuring the architecture at the top. I try to bring few colours in, and I'm a great believer in using the opposities in the colour wheel.Equipment
On this South East Asian trip I took just one camera and one lens. I had recently added this Olympus OM D E mk11, and bought it with the 20-100 zoom. Because this kit has great image stabilisation, I did not bother carrying a tripod.Inspiration
In a shot with this depth of distance, mist and rain detracts from it, hiding detail, rather than adding atmosphere. I still wanted to try because I knew that I would never be able to visit the place again. The rain might cease ( but it didn't) and there were relatively few tourists about.Editing
I was taught by the great Ian Cameron. His way is to try to get everything in camera and leave little to post processing. That was just not possible here. Having said that, apart from using camera RAW, I did little in photoshop. I did add the green texture in Topaz. There was a faint green there, but the gray dampened everything.In my camera bag
I have a Canon EOS 6D mk1 which is still a great camera, and the L series lenses are brilliant. My 'go to' lens is the 24 to 105, but I used to carry the 17-40 too. As I am getting older, I wanted to retain that level of quality, but reduce the weight. Hence the move to Olympus. So, these days its just the OM D, that single zoom lens, and thats pretty much it. To my own enormous surprise I have taken some excellent ( and well reviewed) shots with my iPhone.Feedback
A great shot starts and ends with composition. Think carefully about what you want to say and how to frame that. Try different angles, get muddy if that angle offers something spectacular. If thats not possible, then experiment. Take as many shots as you need and then delete the rubbish in your hotel room or at home on return.
