How to Shoot at a Place Everyone Can Go?
West
This photo was taken at the West scenic spot in the Summer Resort, you can directly search for it on a map to find the exact location.Enter from the West Gate of the Summer Resort, and it takes about one kilometer to walk to arrive. It's really easy to get to, with no barriers.It's also a classic shooting location within the Summer Resort.
However, even in a place that everyone can reach, it takes effort to take a good photo.For this photo, there are two key points: time and focal length.
Let’s talk about time.
This is a lakeside reflection photo taken at sunrise, shot on April 1, 2017, at around 7:00 AM. The date of April 1st is very important because the Summer Resort adjusts its opening time to 6:30 AM starting from April 1st each year.As spring approaches, the sunrise time is getting earlier and earlier, so to capture the scene of the sun rising gently through the willow trees, you actually need to be in the early days of April, usually around early April.
After being in the right place and at the right time, you still need to choose the ‘right’ equipment to take the ‘right’ photo.For symmetrical reflection-type photos, wide-angle lenses are usually used to show the grand and peaceful atmosphere.
In this shoot, I chose the 12-24mm F4 Art lens from Sigma, with a super-wide focal length, simple dust and waterproof design, and exceptional picture quality that exceeded my expectations in everyday use. Even though it was shot in backlight, this lens never knew what chromatic aberration and flare were, moreover, I’ve already stopped the aperture to F13.
At around 7 o’clock, everything was ready, just waiting for someone to walk into the frame. As the crisp shutter sound of the 5D3 broke the silence, the plan was completed, and it was time to go to work! (Yeah, that’s right I ran back to the company and didn’t even arrive late)
During post-processing, I adjusted the clarity to enhance the cloud patterns in the sky and reflection, and to show the vibrant scene of early spring, I adjusted the saturation and strengthened the warm yellow effect of the sun, making the photo more lively.
Of course, post-processing is different for everyone. When I got home, I found that my companion who went with me had a completely different color style, which depends on everyone’s understanding of the scene and their tendency to restore it. After all, most landscape photographers are typical impressionists.
It's just a few days away from this year's West, don't you want to arrange it now?
