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travismandenberg

Celebration of Peace

There is an event called Art Prize in Grand Rapids Michigan. This was a live art event where the artist let people attend, each received a lantern and were aske...
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There is an event called Art Prize in Grand Rapids Michigan. This was a live art event where the artist let people attend, each received a lantern and were asked to release them in unison. This was to symbolize unity of the world. After lighting mine off I took photos of everyone else.
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Canon EOS REBEL T3i

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 800 Shutter 1/30 Focal Length 17/1

upload_date

Jul, 2016

Views

1227

Likes

+73

Awards

Action Award

Chatter Award

Zenith Award

Contest Finalist in Fun Times Photo Contest

Top Shot Award 22

Legendary Award

Contest Finalist in Artificial Light Photo Contest 2017

Member Selection Award

Summer Selection

Top Choice

+17

Outstanding Creativity

+17

Peer Award

+16

Absolute Masterpiece

+14

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Emotions

Impressed

Happy

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in Grand Rapids Michigan during Art Prize about 5 years ago. The event was a mass lantern lighting that was supposed to represent unity. Thousands of lanterns were released that night. Art Prize is the largest art competition in the midwest and there are thousands of exhibits, but far fewer events. This photo didn't see the light of day until I made my Viewbug account because I initially thought it wasn't any good. But when looking for photos to upload a friend of mine said it was amazing. I bet her money that it wouldn't win any contests and now I may owe her 50 dollars.

Time

This photo was taken in the evening It was toward the beginning of autumn and we released the lanterns as soon as the sunset. The blue in the back of the sky is partially from the last vestiges of daylight. Technically the photo was probably taken at the tail end of blue hour.

Lighting

The quality of the firelight from these lanterns adds a lot to the quality of this picture. The fact that there is so much fire from so many locations. of course the orange glow brings out the beauty of skin tones. If you look at anyone in the photo they have a bronze skin tone. This photo also represents that several smaller light sources can work as well as any larger one, although because these lights were so small I had to up my ISO and shoot wide open with my lens. The one regret that I have is that Brianna (the girl in the front) isn't in focus.

Equipment

This was shot on a Canon t3i which doesn't get nearly the respect it deserves for the picture quality it produced. I was shooting with a Tamron 18-55mm 2.8 lens. This lens was incredibly sharp and is a great lens if you are looking for something used. I had just started taking photos at the time so I didn't have a tripod that wasn't

Inspiration

At the time I just wanted to capture the wonder that was unfolding around me. The event was amazing in that there were thousands of people interacting with each other on a level you don't see.There weren't lighters for everyone and they had to be passed around. So everyone was talking to each other basking in the glow of the lights.

Editing

I try to be a traditionalist as much as possible with my photography. I'll shoot raw, and maybe play with the lighting and shadows as well as saturation, but I don't even think I had learned to do that at this point. So chances are the only changes I made was adjusting the saturation and the contrast of this photo.

In my camera bag

The equipment that I pack is usually based on the type of work that I'm doing. However, I have some favorites. I have 3 lenses I usually keep handy. A Tamron 24-70mm lens for portraits, A Sigma 10-20mm lens for landscapes and an old Tamron 200-400mm lens for wildlife and a Rokinon 8mm fisheye lens, also for landscapes. I also keep a set of filters a B+W variable ND filter, a Hoya circular polarizer, and a set of macro filters that I picked up. I use a set of step-up rings to make sure that all of these filters fit all of my lenses. (which is an advantage of shooting cropped sensor) I also carry extra batteries and sd cards. If I'm shooting portraits I'll often bring some vintage lenses too, my favorites are my Minolta 85 and 100mm, and my Soligor 105, which might produce the best bokeh of any lens I own, and possibly an effect lens like a helios 44, or a Lensbaby,

Feedback

I have a few pieces of advice about shooting in this type of environment. First, bring a tripod because you can get some amazing photos of lanterns with an extended shutter, I had a friend who did that and If I had thought to bring one I'm sure I'd have two photos in the finals. Two prepare for the unexpected, Brianna (the girl in the front) didn't step into the shot until the last second, and she's what makes this picture special. Three, look through your gear before your leave and see if there is anything you didn't think of that can make your photos better or more unique. If I went to another of these events I'd take my Helios lens and experiment with the swirly bokeh. The last two things are for anyone trying to photograph anything: Don't judge your art too harshly. When I took this picture I remember thinking that it was horrible. To this day it remains my most loved photo on Viewbug and the only photo that may actually win me anything. The final thing is to experiment with your photography. These days more of the photos I take are good than the ones I took back when I was starting photography. However, less of the ones that are good are unique or brilliant works or art, they tend to be more conventional. Breaking conventions is what makes an artist noteworthy.

See more amazing photos, follow travismandenberg

travismandenberg

travismandenberg

Celebration of Peace

There is an event called Art Prize in Grand Rapids Michigan. This was a live art event where the artist let people attend, each received a lantern and were aske... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow travismandenberg

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There is an event called Art Prize in Grand Rapids Michigan. This was a live art event where the artist let people attend, each received a lantern and were aske...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.