Front Page! Highest position: #9 on Sunday, August 29, 2010
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During my two-weeks holiday the best moments (as for photography) were those spent camping on the Islas Cies.
I have many keepers from the 4 sunrise and 3 sunset photoshoots, and I think I will keep posting shots from there for the next few uploads.
I spent most of the middle hours scouting for locations with my trusty compass (and, to be honest, sleeping on the beach to get some rest after the early morning sessions).
I can clearly remember the wonderful feelings of just being there, with the cold sand surrounding my feet, the sound of the Ocean, the gulls singing (the island actually has one of the largest colonies in Europe)
it was just perfect. I immediately felt a really deep connection with that place.
Weather has been pretty good, even if I missed some more dramatic clouds when the light was just right.
To get this one I had to walk on some slippery rocks which just a couple hours before were below water level: the tide here is pretty strong, penetrating a few
hundred meters in a tight passage populated by many fishes and crabs (the whole island is a natural park).
Composition isn't perfect but I have come from a 5 miles scout walking and was a little late to get on the perfect spot; moreover a minute after this capture a
park ranger asked me to get back to the concrete pathway where many people were enjoying the sunset, and I had to work out other compositions.
I'm however pretty satisfied with this one.
Details
- CANON 5d Mark II, EF 17-40 @ 29mm, f/16, 1/6 s, ISO 100
- Lee 0.9 (3 stops) Soft Grad
- Mirror Lockup, Phottix TR-90 Remote Shutter
- Tripod
The shot
Shot a few minutes after my last upload.
The Processing
Camera Raw
-Tuned White Balance
Photoshop:
- Merged a +2 EV (different) exposure to pull out some details on the rocks (couldn't use the 3&2 stops GND due to flare issues)
- Switched to LAB mode to pull out some colors;
- Back to RGB, added a few Overlay-Soft Light layers to adjust light;
- Added a Color Balance layer to warm tones;
- Added a Curve layer to increase contrast;
- Added 0.15 EV on exposure;
- Added a slightly warming color filter for the sky only;
- Added three soft light layer to tune the luminosity;
- Added a Vibrance layer to improve tonal variation;
- Remove an area of disturbing Lens flare;
- Added a Level layer to better the contrast;
- Resized for the Web (1200px);
- Applied an Unsharp Mask to slightly improve contrast;
- Smart Sharpen + More accurate (with the sky masked off);
- Framing and Signature.
Take a look at it,
LARGE on Black :
First sunset on the Islas Cies, on Black
@ You all
Comments, faves and critiques are always welcomed!
I wish you all the best weekend ever, my dear friends!!!
