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Behind The Lens
Location
This is a photo of my friend, Mariyana, during our trip through the magical Strandzha region in south-eastern Bulgaria.Time
Took the photo, while we were wandering around on a trail, leading to a place called "Indipasha" - a Thracian sanctuary in the Strandzha mountains region. The trail is around 1.5 - 2 hours long, so we wandered the whole day.Lighting
We made the trip in the late autumn, when the weather was already changing and getting colder. The sky was cloudy almost all the time, so the light was really washed out and the whole mood was a bit gray and darker. Which in the end, actually added to my feeling on the trip - Indipasha and the whole Strandzha region is a mystical place in Bulgaria, one of the regions still not fully touched by urbanization.Equipment
The photo is taken with a Nikon D610 camera and the Tamron 24-70 G2 lens on 70 mm.Inspiration
I remember that we joked about the tree, in which I photographed Mariyana - that it was looking like a throne. So she got in and sat in it. I took a couple of shots, where she expressed different emotions, all of them purely her own. This exact photo was the one, that fully matched my whole mood from the trip - a feeling of humility and gratitude in the face of an untouched nature, combined with anxiety for nature's future. It looks to me as the old tree is there to hold her, protect her and keep her safe and calm.Editing
Because of the light, the colors were really grim and washed out, so in post-process, I wanted to get a bit more contrast and lighten darks and shadows to pop out the yellow and brown colors of the tree.In my camera bag
Usually, I play along with the Nikon D610 and two main lenses - a wide Tamron 15-30 and my travel universal 24-70 G2. I also carry two primes - a 44 Helios and a 14mm Laowa to play around. Always with a tripod and a NiSi filter system.Feedback
I enjoy capturing moments like this one - authentic scenes which tell the story of how I feel in the moment. It could take a hundred shots to choose from and sometimes there is only one, or ten or sometimes none. Even the grimmest conditions are beautiful and can produce something worthy!
