This blog post accompanies my video on composition that was shot on location at Twistleton Scar in the Yorkshire Dales. Below you will find each image I shot that morning (and the previous) along with the technical details on how I shot each image and a little about the edit. If you have not seen the video already you can view it embedded at the bottom of this post or by clicking here. Full details of my kit list and software I use can be found there too.
Click each image to fit to screen.
Canon 6D + Canon 24mm TS-E Mk2 + Canon 1.4 Extender III. Base exposure 1/8 sec @ f/11, ISO 100. Bracketed 3 stops either side. Just over 1 degree of tilt + small amount of shift (cannot remember exactly how much). 05/08/2018 06:06am (sunrise was at 05:29).
For the above image I shot 1 set of exposures with the lens shielded by my hand to block flaring and another set whilst I was stood in the frame. Both sets of brackets were merged to HDR in Lightroom where I did some minor tweaks to get the largest dynamic range out of the file. I then synced both images and took them in to Photoshop. Here I masked myself into the non-flared file, added a little warmth and added the flare back using a filter so I could control where it was within the image. I then finished the file in Lightroom, where I added a little more contrast and cropped to a 5x7. My personal favourite from the shoot.
Canon 6D + Canon 24mm TS-E Mk2 + Canon 1.4 Extender III. No tilt, slight shift down. Base exposure 1/8 sec @ f/18, ISO 100. Bracketed 3 stops either side. 05/08/2018 06:16am.
Shot at f/18 to get the pointed sun star in the tree. All exposures were merged to HDR in Lightroom along with the entirety of the edit. In this was it was just a case of balancing the sky with the foreground - mainly using gradient filters - adding some contrast and a large vignette with the radial filter to focus the attention in the image. This image required very little post production.
Canon 6D + Canon 24mm TS-E Mk2 + Canon 1.4 Extender III. Just over 1 degree of tilt, slight shift down. Base exposure 1/25 sec @ f/18, ISO 100. Bracketed 3 stops either side. 05/08/2018 06.43am.
Again with this image I shot to sets of exposures. For 1 set I blocked the sun with my fingers in the frame to cut down on flaring. Shot at f/18 as I was hoping for another sun star, this didn't work quite as well as the last image. Both sets of images merged to HDR in Lightroom, edited in Lightroom then brought into Photoshop to mask out my fingers from the non-flared shot. This was my second attempt at this composition.
Canon 6D + Canon 24mm TS-E Mk2 + Canon 1.4 Extender III. Just over 1 degree of tilt, slight shift down. Base exposure 1/80 sec @ f/11, ISO 100. Bracketed 3 stops either side. 04/08/2018 06:58am.
This was my first attempt at this composition, taken the morning previous to when the video was shot. This was just a case of waiting and waiting to see if any light would break through the cloud. Lucky for me, a small amount of relatively diffused sunlight broke through for a matter of seconds so I could capture this image. To edit I merged all exposures to HDR in Lightroom and then edited as normal. I then added a little bit of flaring and warmth to the sky in Photoshop to give the image a little more dynamic light/shadow.
Which do you prefer out of these two attempts? Let me know in the comments down below!
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Gear used:
With Amazon affiliate links - click each item to view on Amazon. I will make a small commission from items purchased through these links which will help support my journey.
Canon 6D
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 II
Canon 1.4 Extender III
Manfrotto 055 3 Section Carbon Fibre Tripod
Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head
Manfrotto Off-Road 30L
Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
Adobe Photoshop CC