Cradle-Mountain-Sunset
Cradle-Mountain-Sunset
Cradle-Mountain-Sunset
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Jan, 2014Views
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brentonjones
February 14, 2014
Thank you. You have some amazing bird shots. Well done. Not sure I have as much patience as you ;-)
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brentonjones
February 14, 2014
Many thanks Ed. You have a great portfolio; shows a very diverse skill set.
brentonjones
February 14, 2014
Thanks Lito. Looking at your work means you too enjoy an early morning or sunset vista. Great stuff.
brentonjones
February 14, 2014
Many thanks for the kind words. You've certainly got some great portrait material!
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on Christmas Eve 2013 and is a view of Cradle Mountain at sunset. Cradle Mountain is located in the north west of Tasmania. The lake in the foreground is Dove Lake. Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake are part of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.Time
This image will forever sit fondly in my memory as a special shot, simply because it taught me a valuable lesson in patience and how to shoot mountainous terrain when weather conditions can change quickly. I remember arriving early at Dove Lake carpark with my wife and two kids. We spent some time walking around the lake edge admiring the view and serenity. Naturally, I used this time to find the best compositional shot. It was one of those classic summer evenings with little to no wind disturbing the waters surface so I was hoping for an iconic mirror reflection of sunset cloud and mountains to give me perfect symmetry. There was some surface rocks in the foreground too which could help provide some interest and lead the eye up into the landscape. After patiently waiting an hour for the light to deliver, my app (The Photographers Ephemeris) was telling me sunset had passed some 20 minutes ago. At this point I was feeling very depressed as there was no drama or colour in the sky. At 30 minutes past sunset I decided to call it quits. I just started to remove my ND soft grad filters when suddenly the colour popped. I raced to reapply the filters and exposure settings to quickly take a series of shots. The pink colours in the sky lasted no longer than a minute, giving me only 4 shots to work with. This image was shot number three!Lighting
At first glance, this scene looked simple enough but on closer inspection, I knew it would be a challenge given the light was very high key and providing extremely strong contrast. The sun was setting to the right of the scene meaning the mountains would be in harsh shadow. I wanted to work quickly when the light changed and the colour would arrive, so creative use of filters were mandatoryEquipment
This was shot using a Nikon D800 mounted on a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead and Series 3 tripod with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Two ND grad filters (0.6 and 0.6) were used to control light exposure for the sky and water areas and a polarising filter used to remove as much glare as possible in the foreground. One filter was inserted upside down for the water area. Remote trigger release was used with mirror lock-up feature to avoid camera shake.Inspiration
Cradle mountain from this location at the base of Dove Lake is a very common shot, so I had been inspired to take a photo of my own for some time. The last time I visited Cradle Mountain was as a young teenager on family holiday, some 25 years ago, so now was my chance to capture a new artistic memory of such an iconic and popular tourist location. Because of the mountains popularity, I was definitely after something different, something that only I could say was taken by me. The key point of difference for me was going to be composition and colour. I knew the light and sky would give me something uniquely different and if I could use the water and the reflections to my advantage, surely something creative could come from it. Given I was the only person and photographer there that evening (by the time this shot was taken, my whole family had retreated to the car and all other tourist had gone!), I know I managed to capture a magical moment that only I can claim witness to. My next adventure to this location will be in winter when snow fall and softer light bathes the mountain in a very different tone.Editing
In landscape photography, normally post-processing is a large part of the creative process. In this case however, there was very little post-processing required as most of what you see was done 'in camera'. Filters were used to control light exposure to the sky and water to give me as much control as possible. All that was needed in post processing was some minor light, contrast and colour enhancement beside the usual removal of dust spots. My workflow involves doing most of my post-processing in Lightroom before moving to Photoshop if required. This image was transferred to Photoshop to make some controlled light adjustments to the mountainous (land) areas using luminosity masks to bring out some of the details. Apart from that, and no more than ten minutes of time invested post-processing, the image was done.In my camera bag
My most common go-to set up for landscape photography is a Nikon D800 with 24-70mm f2.8 attached. Also in my bag is a Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I also always carry my Nikon 50mm f1.8 as it's light and very sharp! This lens is great for stitching panoramas. A landscape photographer wouldn't leave home without spare batteries, cable release/remote trigger, rain coat for camera, a circular polarising filter and a range of ND filters with holder. Of course the tripod with ballhead tags along. One thing I can't live without on my tripod is a variety of feet attachments. The Really Right Stuff tripod allows me to change feet depending on the environment. Rock claws, spikes and rubber feet gives me plenty of options to ensure I can lock down my tripod securely. The longer spikes are my go-to and most versatile as I can bury the tripod feet deep into the ground limiting shake. You'll be surprised how much shake you can get and not notice from environmental factors such as wind, cars driving by, water movement, etc. Getting your tripod sturdy and rock solid is critical to taking great landscape images.Feedback
This shot of Cradle Mountain is very common and iconic. There are thousands of images out there and every travel brochure or website selling Tasmania as a holiday destination has a shot of Cradle Mountain. Knowing this, it's important to think differently and try and capture something that says this is Cradle Mountain is a different light (excuse the pun!). Patience and Preparation are also vital ingredients to success (the two P's!). I use the mobile app The Photographer's Ephemeris to help plan my shots in advance. On this particular case, I was visiting the National Park as part of a family holiday and Christmas celebrations, but I knew I would have an hour or so to capture something. Taking time on site to explore and draw images in your head or on paper help greatly. I always carry a pencil and paper with me and view finder to help me create an image long before I photograph it. I saw this image in my head early on; all I needed was for the light, clouds and weather conditions to play ball and come together for a small period of time to bring that vision to reality. Patience is about listening to your gut and learning to read the forces of nature as they happen. If you have an extra hour to hang around, stay for another hour and a half. You never know what the light will do unless you're there and ready to press the shutter button. Take your time and be ready to take the shot. But more importantly, enjoy your surroundings as there's nothing more peaceful and beautiful than looking at nature and breathing fresh air!
