Morning Mist (formerly known as Coastal Art League of Half Moon Bay 2) by Mark Roberts from California.
Congratulations!
Photographer Bio
Mark’s love for photography began in the winter of 2010 when he purchased his first digital SLR. He spent much time reading photographic magazines and Internet articles and studying the styles of great landscape photographers. He has had no formal education or training in photography.
Although Mark produces most of his work in rich vibrant colors, he also enjoys the creativity and latitude offered by B/W photography in digital format. His photographs try to capture both the physical and emotional nature of light. “Light in nature takes on astonishingly diverse shapes, forms and colors that allow us to interact with the world around us. The calm deep blue of twilight, the dynamic fiery red glow of lava, the piercing beams of sun breaking through the clouds, and the soft romantic moonlight reflected in a glacial lake all affect our mood, our feelings and our very outlook on life”. It is this physical and emotional nature of light that he passionately struggles to capture through his photographs. He is well aware, however, that his photographs can convey only so much of the wonder as it is beyond his abilities to replicate the awe and magnificence of the natural world. He is not sure his efforts will endure the test of time, but he certainly hopes they will provide inspiration for others who may also try to capture the nature of light.
Q & A
Q.
How did you find the spot to set up and capture such a beautiful photograph?
A.
When I go somewhere to photograph I usually scout out the area and find places that I think will be good shots for either evening or early morning shots. I then use my gps device and mark that area for a later time it might be later that night or sometime in the future. As I did for this photo Morning Mist. Most my shots will be either early morning or evening that’s when I think is the best light. I might travel for hundreds of miles before I find something interesting.
Q.
What do you typically look for when you’re taking landscape photographs?
A.
Before I take a landscape photo I want to make sure it has good composition and something interesting in the photo, at lease I hope it does.
Q.
Was that the only photo you took or was that one of many?
A.
This photo of Morning Mist was only one of about five I took at that area.
Q.
What gear did you use for the photograph?
A.
All my photos are taken using a tripod which I think is the most essential pieces of photography equipment besides the camera and lens. I want to let people know that you don’t need fancy equipment to take beautiful photographs you just need good transportation and a good eye.
Never forget that all the great photographs in history were made with more primitive camera equipment than you currently own.
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” ~Ansel Adams
Q.
Why did you choose the settings you chose? (aperture, shutter speed, ISO)
A.
I used, which was my first digital camera, a Nikon D3100 with a focal length of 27mm F22 ISO-100 exposure bias -1 3sec exp. I like to use a long shutter speed when I take pictures of water to make it look more smooth and silky. I always use a low ISO because I want the picture to have as little as possible noise. I think using a higher aperture settings allow you to take pictures with greater depth of field.
Q.
Why did you choose this picture to submit to the contest?
A.
I chose this picture because of the mist between the trees, the river in the foreground and having the waterfall in the background really sets it off and just the overall beauty of it. Since that photograph I have switched camera brands and bought a full frame Canon Mark2 and a few different lenses plus a much better tripod.
If you’d like to see more of Marks photography you can visit his website at www.markrobertsphotography.net.
Mark has won a brand new 32GB iPad Mini and some bragging rights. Stay tuned for our next contest which will be starting this month and have a cash prize. Thanks to everyone who participated, your photographs were all amazing.
