HOT SHOT #2
EXPOSURE 0.8 sec, f/14, ISO100 LENS 10-20mm f/3.5
Our Apprentice says… Wandering along the water’s edge I found a scattering of rocks, which pitted the otherwise featureless shoreline. I originally got down very low to the water, but found the rocks got lost behind one another. Carmen suggested I get a little height to let the rocks spread out in their own space, so I adjusted my tripod to waist height and the scene came to life. There was a little movement on the tarn, though, so I wanted a longer shutter speed. I set an aperture f/14, which had the knock-on effect of increasing my exposure time, but the shot wasn’t bright enough, so I dialled in +1 2/3 stops of exposure compensation, which extended the exposure still further.
Expert insight Summer thermals
Carmen says… Adam noticed ripples on the lake, disrupting the clear reflection he’d seen just a few moments before, but there was no wind to whip up the ripples. Carmen explains: “You have to become a bit of a meteorologist in the Lake District. It’s actually thermals on the lake that create these ripples.” After waiting a few minutes, the lake became clear and ripple-free again.
Going vertical With landscapes, the foreground is just as important as the main background subject. This series of stones leading into the lake produced a dramatic leading line. The vertical format ensures the stepping stones have more impact, drawing the eye to the mountains behind, while removing any extraneous detail left and right to simplify the scene. Turning the camera, instead of cropping later, keeps maximum resolution (and so detail) in the image. Live View Focusing With Live View engaged, Adam moved the focus point on the rocks a third of the way into frame, using the back button focusing technique Carmen showed him earlier. This enabled him to position his focus point very precisely.
Pro’s Killer Kit Graduated neutral density filter
Carmen says… The sky was bleaching out in Adam’s first attempts, so to avoid clipping in the highlights I gave Adam a Lee Filters 0.6 (two-stop) soft graduated neutral density filter. Placing the dark portion at the top of the frame reduces the brightness of the sky, meaning he could reveal detail in the sky and clouds without darkening the foreground.