Parys Mountain, Anglesey. UK
Parys Mountain, Anglesey. UK
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Contest Finalist in HDR Only Photo Contest
Peer Award
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Absolute Masterpiece
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jonnywilliams
September 02, 2015
Nicely Capture Visited a few times myself Well done on getting finalist :)
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken on top of Parys Mountain on the beautiful island of Anglesey, North Wales. It's a copper mine that was active from Roman times through to the 1980's. The tower was a combined steam and wind-powered water pump to keep the mine safe.Time
It was taken on a very stormy Saturday afternoonLighting
As soon as I saw the mountains in the distance and the bright areas in the sky, I knew I'd need to use HDR rather than a 'normal' shot. I wanted to capture the colour of the heather too - so it needed something beyond a single frame.Equipment
Nikon D800 and my trusty 28-300mm 1:3.5-5.6G. I have an old but very solid Slik tripod that works well in windy conditions. Worth keeping some of the older kit around for this type of rough work.Inspiration
How could I not take this photo? The cloud cover and the vast bleak top of a mountain destroyed by years of mining and weather ... I just had to take the shot.Editing
This is a 9-frame HDR, assembled using HDR-Pro. Minimal processing, but I had to desaturate slightly as HDR-Pro can (in my opinion) make things a little garish, if not careful. Sharpened slightly.In my camera bag
D800, Nikkor 28-300MM 1:3.5-5.6G; 16-35mm 1:4GED; SB-900; 3 LED Lights; Assorted filters (ND, Variable ND and Grads, Polariser, Colour Grads).Feedback
Take your time. Walk around until you find the composition. Take the extra few shots - for HDR, I generally use 7 or 9 shots. It costs you nothing in real terms but gives you substantially better results. Also, weigh down the tripod - it gets windy on the top of the mountains. Also, I prepare for rain at any moment - conditions change quickly so keep an eye on the weather while sorting out everything else.