I discovered this jewel of a location 2 weeks ago and went back last week before the wheat is harvested. It's about 300km from home, but well worth the drive. If your ever going to South Africa you can pm me for the gps location
Before the sun set the lighting was near perfect. Single exposure,( 3 of them ) I just darkened the sky by about 0.5 stops.
40D
24-105mm L @ 50mm
Then the sun set for a stunning light show
40D
Sigma 10-20mm
3 exposures ( 2 for the sky, one for the field )
Blended exposures....I find that even my Lee grads can spoil the colors of these Cirrus cloud sunsets so I try to blend exposures where the horizon allows it.
The last red light on the clouds in the distance
40D
24-105mm @ 105mm
2 weeks later I got lucky again and was treated to another stunner of a sunset
40D
10-20mm
3 exposures blended with some intensive mask and brush work
I have about 200 photos from each sunset with so many compositions, but spring has been keeping me really busy and I'll probably only get to processing them all in peak summer.
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Hougaard Malan wrote:
I don't believe you commented too much John? Life keeping you busy?
Hmmmm I think I did??
Ya VERY busy, Autumn in the Rockies is my busiest time of the year! I don't have a whole lotta time for DA at the moment, I am so far behind it is insane...over 10,000 messages lol I suppose I would just rather be out shooting as much as I can, especially in Autumn
Ahhh South Africa a treasure trove of hidden landscapes to be discovered...everyone goes to the game farms and they miss gems like this. fantastic location and photos...makes me miss that country badly I lived there for a few years back in 2000
What is DA? I love the first. Basic midwest peace. Beautiful soft lighting.
The mood definitely transmits. I like the third a lot also, but something about it bothers me. Maybe there's too much space to the right of the windmill, and possibly the slope of the ground hints of a tilted, horizon. Not sure about the slope, but feel pretty sure about the crop to the right. The proportions are nice though, if you do crop the right, you might have to reduce the height one way or the other to maintain the same proportions. I'm dying to try it, may I? Beautiful colors
Wow, these are special! Each one is so cool in it's own way, and you really processed them nicely. I love sunset colors, but I think #1 is incredible in how it has such a nice wide view. In #2, I do really like it, but I think with the direction of the windmill, it should be on the right side of the frame like in #3. But it is still a sweet shot, maybe I am being too picky...
It is exactly like you say Nathan. Everyone comes to Namibia and South Africa for the wildlife and the landscapes go completely unseen...I ain't complaining Maybe I'll be South Africa's Marc Adamus in 5 years.
DA = deviantart
Jim, the windpump isn't quite ideal, it's a bit slanted and a bit too short. I would have preferred on the right but there were bluegum trees to the left that would just have been abberation silhouettes.
great set. you really did well with these. I do have a question.
your merged exposures are not overdone by far but when every I try to use photomatix, it over sat. and blows out shadows all the time. What software are you using to merge these exposures?
again awesome set. I am a sucker for the wide angles
