Wagon Hill Farm
by Harry Lichtman
Took this the other evening at a local farm/conservation area. I noticed some clumps of Swamp Rose (I think) and worked them into a composition for sunset. Moved in as close as focus would allow, and stacked several images for a focal blend. A separate exposure for the sky/sun. Amazed at the sun star created by the 16-35 lens. Not usually a fan of sun stars because they often seem too fantasy like in an image. This one just seemed to fit, as the bright light skimmed across the top of the field and flowers. Unfortunately the fields are thick with poison ivy, so hope everything needed a wash down.
Used my thumb to block the sun for all of the FG shots, and a regular shot for the star and sky. My thumb in various positions made automatic blending impossible, so it was painstaking putting this together.
Some distortion, but not a problem for me as the terrain was sloped anyway. 5DII, 16-35, ISO 100 ANy ideas welcome.
Comments
19 commentsaF
Stuart - I did take a comp with the sun more centered, but I didn't think the flow of flowers was as good in filling the FG frame. Also, shift the view a little more to the left to center the sun would have reduced the best part of the clouds over the scene, I may go back and process some of the other images when time permits to really compare them side by side.
Andrew- I completely understand what you mean about the sun star. That is why I inherently don't like them. Rarely does the eye see them as we do in photos, unless squinting into the sun. It looked like a bright blob through the viewfinder until the lower edge hit the tree line. The clouds helped reduce brightness a little. I think part of the reason is that the rays are so sharp & defined, which is what the lens produces stopped down to f16. Maybe a softer star would be more believeable. Never tried at large apertures, but definitely worth a try. I'm sure others on this site have more experience with this than me. Sun stars seem more of an artistic expression of the image than a reality.
I really like the sun star in this and I'm not usually a fan of them either. Wonderful light, gorgeous color and a strong comp. No suggestions from me.
pat
The light filtering through the flowers give them a glowing, stained glass quality that imparts that something extra to the image. The distortion is noticeable, but it's not really bothersome for the reason you mentioned. Beautiful capture!
Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI