This stunning landscape was captured in Exe Estuary, Devon, by Sam Evans (AKA @samevanssnaps). He told me: "The sun was setting over the hills in the background, which created this flow of golden light across the water at low tide." Reflections are a key factor when photographing bodies of water. In this instance, the reflection in the water has effectively doubled the amount of golden light.
Sam used his trusty Canon 250D, Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC and a K&F polarizing filter. But such was the spontaneity of the image, he didn’t have a tripod handy, so he improvised: “I laid my rucksack on the floor and rested my camera on top so I had a stable base.”
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While Sam admits that arriving early is the best way to shoot sunrise/sunset, he explains that this was an impromptu capture. "I was driving along the seafront to watch the sunset and noticed the pools of water shining. It was fairly late into the sunset but I was determined to try and get a shot of the boat."
He used the tried-and-tested rule of thirds to frame the image: "Placing your subject left or right of the center feels more natural and is easier on the eye. The boat itself really adds something to the image. It draws the viewer's eye but I also positioned it strategically to block the harshest part of the sun out, too. I also like how the reflection makes it look like it's hovering."
"I laid my rucksack on the floor and rested my camera on top so I had a stable base."
The images were merged together in Adobe Lightroom. Masking was used to draw the viewer's eye to specific areas, including the boat. Sam says: "I added some texture to the boat so it stood out more and then finished with some very light color enhancements so the image really popped."
Sam's top tips for landscape photography…
"Wear waterproof shoes! In all seriousness, I think my most important tips are to use bracketing and a stable base, like a tripod." Exposure bracketing is when a photographer captures multiple images with identical framing but at different exposures. This is useful at sunrise/sunset since you can expose for the bright highlights and the dark shadows, before blending the exposures in post-production to capture a balanced exposure throughout the scene. According to Sam: "This is a bracketed image consisting of five different photographs, with varying shutter speeds from eight to three seconds."
Check out previous Photo of the Day images, and the stories behind them. If you have an image you'd like us to consider for Photo of the Day, email it to us at digitalcameraworld@futurenet.com
Interested in landscape photography? Check out the best camera for landscape photography and the best wide-angle lenses.
