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Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 17
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.Time
The image was captured while on an early morning hike. The El Yunque trail in the longest in the forest and ascends to the El Yunque Peak.Lighting
The trail is a fairly consistent uphill grade with several switchbacks along the way. After turning the corner on one of the switchbacks, I was presented with this serene morning light just beginning to to burn through the thick overcast clouds. I immediately recognized the compositional framing offered by the leaning tree, and the many shades of green being enhanced by the soft lighting.Equipment
The image was capture using a Pentax K5 camera body, and Sigma 17-70 lens. and a small "backpack" style tripod.Inspiration
I love travel ,and like many photographers get inspired by seeing new places. This was my first ever visit to a rain forest, and my senses were on overload. With a wide variety of wildlife, birds, and fauna, I was inspired just being there; in the moment.Editing
I shoot everything in RAW format and then use OnOne software for post processing. I try to limit the any drastic manipulations to the images, usually just adjustments to the highlights and black levels to balance the shadows. Then finished with a slight degree of sharpening and vignette.In my camera bag
Perhaps I'm a bit of an outlier, but I use Pentax and Fuji equipment. For the Pentax K5 body, my "walk about" lens is the Sigma 17-70. Mostly because of it's relatively broad range, and it's also built well. Much of my work is landscape and outdoor, so sometimes my equipment can take a beating. That being said, weather-sealed lenses and bodies are important. In my Pentax bag (by Clik) I typically also pack a Pentax 50mm prime and a Pentax 50-135 zoom, in addition, you'll fine a Sigma 10-20 wide angle lens and a Pentax 560 speed light. My Fuji kit is a bit more spartan, and I'll use it more for more close-up intimate work. The Fuji camera is a XT-1 body with a Fuji 18-55 kit lens as the default. Also included is a Ronkinon 12mm wide angle MF lens, just for fun!Feedback
If new to photography, my advise is to get into the manual aspects of your camera, learn them well, then apply those skills to a given scene. Another critical piece of advice for all photographers is to include a decent tripod as part of your kit. Often great photographs are the result of unique ambient lighting which is not always optimal. Having a tripod at hand will broaden your opportunities to capture scenes that are just not withing reach using handheld techniques.