This Perfect Sunset Didn’t Need Any Photoshop [Image Cache]

The Moon, Venus, the clouds, and the birds dancing under the lights and shadows of an ideal sunset… So perfect, in truth, that it feels otherworldly, like an sci-fi illustration. But there aren’t Photoshop filters or HDR or airbrushing here.

I thought it was artificial once I first saw it, perhaps High Dynamic Range photography . But that’s not the case. It was only 1 of those perfect moments of nature, framing the conjunction of Venus and Mars.

I talked with Isaac Gutiérrez Pascual , the photographer, about his technique:

It was pretty simple. I took it with my Canon 5D and Canon EF70-200 2.8 IS lenses. I measured the light with a Sekonik light meter, and set the camera at ISO 320, f/5.6 and 1/320. I imported it through RAW and that was it.

No Photoshop adjustment work, no HDR toning or compositing of any kind. Just the standard value tweaking while importing the RAW photography from the camera. The magic was not inside the camera or the software, just within the skies of the gorgeous city of Córdoba, Spain.

It was last week, on September 11. I was in a place called Los Sotos de la Albolafia, a natural reserve where birds live in Córdoba. A kind of evenings after you can smell the storm coming within the air. There was a nice breeze. It felt like the top of the summer.

There was an enormous anvil cloud. Flocks of birds were coming back to sleep. I knew Venus can be near Jupiter, and after it slow it appeared behind a cloud. It was fast, because in a couple of seconds all was gone.

I was within the right place at the proper time with the gear ready… so it had to be good.

And good it’s far. [ Isaac Gutiérrez Pascual ]

Source

This post is tagged: fi illustration, flocks of birds, High Dynamic Range, high dynamic range photography, lights and shadows, perfect moments