f/8, 48 sec, at 43mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 60D
OK, this is going to sound a bit silly, but there are times when I’m out taking pictures during the Minnesota winter where a lovely warmth comes over me. It’s not so much a warmth that makes my toes toasty (even though I found out wearing boots while out in the snow does help with that), but is one that makes me comfortable right where I’m at doing exactly what I’m doing. You know it’s just right.
Last night was one of those times. I didn’t make it out to take pictures until the sun was almost down (when the boy wants to watch the Star Wars movies with good ol’ dad, who am I to say no?) but when I did set out, the location and shot type was already in my head. Didn’t hurt that the clouds in the western sky were perfect for the sunset, either! So it was get there, get out and shoot. Turns out, because the shoot was somewhat preplanned, the time available ended up being plenty, so I was able to move around quite a bit and find ‘The Shot’ that I wanted, which is posted above.
Even though I had the shot I wanted, it still took some work to make it right. Even though I bracketed the image and it likely would have made a more proper exposure on the shot, I chose to go with the long exposure and work the image with selective curve adjustments to darken the sky a bit and lighten the foreground. I just liked the overall feel of the single, long exposure shot versus what I envisioned the tone mapped image to be. Go figure!
It was a long walk to and from my car and there was mostly ankle deep snow wherever I stepped. Even so, the comfort of being in that place at that time made me forget just how cold the Minnesota winter could be.
- Aperture: ƒ/8
- Camera: Canon EOS 60D
- Focal length: 43mm
- ISO: 200
- Shutter speed: 48s
