Location:

Newport Beach, Northern Beaches, Sydney Australia

Gear:

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM

Focal Length: 16mm

Shutter speed: 30sec

ISO: 1600

F: 14

Manual mode

Manual focus

Filters: Lee – 1x Lee Big Stopper (10 stops) I use the Lee 100mm system with 2x filter slots.

Editing: Lightroom for fundamentals -> Photoshop assisted with plugins (Topaz, Alien Skin Exposure 5) to refinement and experimenting with colours, contrast and mood with a series of layers used selectively with layer masks and opacity variations. 

Process: This was the first time I have used my new Lee Big Stopper – 10 stop filter. This is a game changer for me. I think it is going to take some time to get right but It certainly opens up a lot of new possibilities. I also need to get a cable release as I can’t go past 30sec exposure without being in bulb mode. To use the bulb mode without shaking the camera I need a cable release.

What I’m happy with: I think this is a really natural scene that reflects the moment well. I have tried to not over process the shadows as I wanted a more realistic representation of what it looked like at the time.

What I would correct next time: I would like to shoot this again with a better sky.

Cheers

Matt