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nishantkumar
December 03, 2019
Seeing this picture, I just feel I have got to click one like this before I breath my last!
Amazing work! Cheers!
Amazing work! Cheers!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from my driveway just after clearing it after a light overnight snow.Time
I took the shot about mid-morning, just after clearing the snow. As you can see some driveways are clear, some are not, and the roads in the neighborhood still have snow on them.Lighting
Part of what I believe makes this photo work is the diffused light from the cloudy sky. If the sun had been shining then the long shadows would have detracted from the starkness of the trees in the snow and the near symmetry of the lines formed by the streets and driveways.Equipment
This was taken with an Autel X-Star drone, the first one I purchased.Inspiration
Drone photos after a snow are always fun to find, particularly if the snow is sticking to the trees. While not the case here, when I aimed the camera straight down I loved how the wetness of the roads and driveways contrasted with the white of the snow. I was originally looking to try and catch a car or a school bus on the road but traffic was light. When I brought the shot into Lightroom I noticed the near symmetry of the original shot, and while capturing that wasn't my original intent it was hard to ignore once I saw it.Editing
Everything I do goes through at least Lightroom for light and contrast adjustments since I shoot raw, even on my drones. With this shot I also brought it into the older Topaz Studio to enhance the definition of the trees against the snow.In my camera bag
My drone photography is secondary to my normal wildlife work, where I use a pair of Canon mirrorless with the R5 and 100-500mm as my usual go-to. I've long ago retired the X-Star I used here and now use a first generation Autel EVO for my drone work.Feedback
The best advice I can give any photographer is to always be looking for a photograph, and take/make the time to find it when opportunity presents itself. In this case I'd just finished clearing my driveway and the sidewalk, I was cold and tired, and needed to get to work. I could have blown off putting the drone in the air given that the snow wasn't of the type typical for a drone/snow photo (and there are no guarantees you'll find something even then), but I took the time to break it out and get it in the air and was rewarded. You're never guaranteed a great photo, but you're guaranteed to miss them when you don't go looking for them.