whaevamakesuhappy
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken near my hometown Dielheim (Germany) where I grew up. It's a small town close to Heidelberg with a little under 9000 inhabitants. As a kid I used to play a lot in these fields, always enjoying the beauty of nature.Time
It was a cold winter day and I was already outside for a couple of hours, shooting with a friend in the woods. We were about to go back home as we saw the beautiful colors of the sun shining though the trees. The picture was taken on March 8th, 2016 at 6:54PMLighting
The entire day we didn't see the sun due to a very thick and persistent cloud cover. I was really lucky that the clouds opened up just in the moment for sunset and revealed this breathtaking scene with an amazing light.Equipment
This was shot on my Nikon D5100 with the 18-105mm kit lens. I didn't have a tripod or anything else with me at this moment, because I left it all in the woods right next to the field, just to get to the scene as fast as possible.Inspiration
When I first went outside I didn't think of shooting a beautiful sunset picture that day. It was dark all day and the clouds didn't seem like they would open up at any point. In the end I was at the right place at the right time. As I saw the scene, I was very excited, because I knew it would be a great picture with the light and and the silhouette of the lonely tree.Editing
I did some minor contrast and lighting adjustments in Lightroom and then took it to Photoshop, where I used Color Efex Pro 4 to tweak the colors and contrast a little more to enhance the mood of this picture.In my camera bag
My standard setup is the Nikon D5100 with the 18-105mm kit lens. The same setup I used to take this picture. It's just very versatile and you can adjust very quickly to the scene. I also have a Sigma 10-20mm, if I need a wider angle for architecture or landscapes and a Nikkor 35mm 1.8 for low light and portraits.Feedback
It might sound cliché, but you have to be at the right moment at the right time. Follow the light, because the light is what makes the picture special. I have been to way more beautiful and impressive places, set up the perfect composition and didn't get the picture I wanted just because the lighting wasn't right. Plan your trips, check the weather forecast and shoot at dusk and dawn. That will make it much more likely to be at "that" place at "that" time.