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charlesshaffer

Reflections of Sandy 1.JPG

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 Shutter 1/50 Focal Length 70/1

upload_date

Oct, 2020

Views

262

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Awards

Curator's Selection

Winter Award 2020

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Peer Award

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

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Behind The Lens

Location

This is from a bridge about two miles from my home. I see this every day going to and from work. On this particular day in early Fall I really liked the light that I saw on the way home. I quickly grabbed my camera and got back to the scene. I was able to get several really nice shots off while the light was what I wanted. It was just right and this is one of the results.

Time

The date was October 4, 2020 at 4:10 PM according to the metadata. I was on my way home from work at the time.

Lighting

All natural lighting. It was soft, even, and with enough directional to create some highlights. The sun is off to the right which lit up the left bank bringing out the colors nicely. If it was too much earlier in the day, the highlights would have been blown out; too much later and the shadows would have been blocked up and would have no detail. Timing was everything.

Equipment

My Canon 1D MK IV, and Canon EF70-200 f2.8 IS L at 70mm lens. I had no other equipment with me because of the time constraints. It was a grab and go or miss out on the light.

Inspiration

Short answer is the quality of the light. I'm always on the lookout for photo ops. I've had my eye on this location for some time; but because of time constraints with work and the light being what I wanted, I had to wait quite a long time to get it. However, on this Oct. 4th, everything lined up; and I was able to get the shot.

Editing

I shoot almost exclusively in raw so processing is a must. I use Lightroom as my asset management and "digital darkroom" for processing. I do have a full color capable darkroom with capacity to process 4x5 negatives, but haven't used it since going digital. My process is very similar to what you would do with film in a darkroom: 1. A great image always starts in the camera. No amount of processing can make up for a bad negative. Period. 2. Now we go to the darkroom (Lightroom); a. Any cropping is done first. I was taught to shoot loose and adjust later. b. Set white balance. In manual processing even this decision is made by the photographer. c. Set black point. All images should have some pure black or they look flat. d. Set white point. Same reason as black point. You've now established your dynamic range for the image. e. Adjust shadows for good detail. f. Adjust highlights for good detail. g. Adjust for any needed color corrections. h. If needed do any burn/doge work now and readjust steps c. through g. i. Next I add some clarity and vibrance. j. I also adjust saturation at this time. Usually I don't adjust saturation and have actually toned down an image a bit. Be careful to not over saturate. It's a common mistake because many like brilliant colors but over doing it will make your photo look plastic and not real. k. Next is sharpening. Be careful here. Over sharpening isn't good either. l. Now noise reduction. Again be careful here as well. Over processing is obvious and accounts for that "photo-shopped" look. That's basics of my processing philosophy/ technique. A lot of it comes from many hours in a wet darkroom long before we had computers. I miss it and want to go back there some day

In my camera bag

My go to grab bag is my Canon 1D MK IV, the EF70-200 f2.8 IS L lens, a 28-105 Sigma wide angle zoom, a Canon flash and a few filters cleaners and the like. I have acquired an extensive collection of lenses, tripods, flashes and other support equipment so I have lots of choices when planning a shoot. It's too much to list here and definitely too much to carry. At best, if the collection goes with me, most of it stays in my truck until needed.

Feedback

Some advanced planning is always beneficial. As I noted above I've been watching this location for some time. It took a couple years to actually get this one because two things had to come together, my time availability and the light had to be just right at the same time. Being aware of what was happening with the light allowed me to take advantage of it. A short outline for any desired outcome looks like this: I. Have a plan - It's rare when everything comes together by accident. A. Know what makes good, no, A Great Composition. i. make your image dynamic. ii. centered subjects are most often static iii. there is much more to composition than just the rule of thirds B. Remember that photography means to "paint with light." i. Be aware of the light and be patient for it to be correct. ii. harsh lighting won't give you good results. iii. neither will flat lighting. C. Be prepared to do what it takes to be at the right place at the right time. It takes effort. D. Know what "sells." If you shoot what just pleases you, you are going to have a hard time pleasing a judge or a potential buyer. Some of the harshest judges that I've had taught me the most on this one. Think about the appeal factor of your intended audience. The better the appeal factor, the bigger the audience. Anyone can take a snapshot. Photographers make art.

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charlesshaffer

charlesshaffer

Reflections of Sandy 1.JPG

Behind The Lens

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