Witold

Woods of the Chenonceau___4256.sm

Chenonceaux, Centre, FR

upload_date

Aug, 2020

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1441

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Dear Trees Photo Contest

Curator's Selection

Top Shot Award 22

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Peer Award

+374

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Outstanding Creativity

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Absolute Masterpiece

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this picture in the woods leading to the Château de Chenonceau. The Château is an unique castle spanning the river Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux, in France.

Time

It was late afternoon in early September.

Lighting

Walking with a crowd of visitors on the main alley leading to the castle, I have noticed unusual shadows on the surrounding trees. It was late afternoon, and the red sunset was setting low, projecting almost horizontal light. It casted creative shadows, underlining roughness of branches and decisive shape of the trees. It was quite dark there. But that darkness was my friend, as it eliminated many unnecessary details, so important to minimize distracting noise, when photographing in the forest.

Equipment

I have used Pentax K-1, my preferred landscape camera. No tripod, just a hand-held release. It was rather dark, a borderline shot. So, I held my camera steady and held my breath for a moment. I trusted that my in-the-lens stabilization system will do the rest of the trick. And it did.

Inspiration

I often search for the landscape shoots that may look like a painter's art. So, I moved from the well-attended tourist alley into the surrounding woods. I was instantly mesmerized by a minimalistic scenario opening around me. In front, a line of trees, which to me looked like some scene from a fantasy land, yet clearly leading to a mysterious historic building. The light cascading on the trees, had turned them into some kind of enchanted forest. And the red color splashes emphasized an early Fall. I knew, I had everything in this picture to make it complete.

Editing

I used the Photoshop and Lightroom to add the contrast, improve color and eliminate distractions, to make the picture more focused, yet mysterious. I have purposedly eliminated many details, to make the strongest impact of the light, color and the shadows, that best emphasized a natural energy of the forest. Here the cascade of colors played against brutal veins covering the main trunks.

In my camera bag

Lately I have become completely dependent on my Pentax K-1. It's a full frame machine with a quality of picture close to the middle format cameras, which I so admired decades ago. I always carry with me an UV filter, a Circular Polarizer and Graduated Neutral filter. And always take with me some extra memory cards, batteries and lens cleaning tissues. All neatly packed in dedicated compartments of my sling backpack.

Feedback

I often search for places near popular tourist venues, hoping to find what others perhaps missed. Then I use a post processing to moderately improve the color, sharpness and contrast, but without exaggeration of overprocessing. Let the light paint the picture. Then, your role as a photographer is to just find that magical place and photograph what's already there. And yes, you can do it!

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Witold

Witold

Woods of the Chenonceau___4256.sm

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Witold

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