Description

The Perseverance of Light, Berowra Heights, NSW

I have sat on what I call ‘My Rock’ many times over the years. In times of Good, and perhaps more often in Times of Not So Good, just to clear my head of the Dross that the current city-commute lifestyle dictates.

I have pondered many times about how to take a good image of the area, and to capture the feeling of serenity that you get sitting high above the waters below. It’s not easy. The eye sees what it wants to, and the camera sees what is actually there. It is the single largest photographic challenge we all have.

There is (1) a great tree, (2) water far below and (3) great space. The challenge is that the wonder of the water – which the eye is drawn to ‘in the moment’ is not captured on the sensor. In a word – it’s Small. I knew I needed Great Light – but the scene faces pretty much north, so how could I get it to happen – as traditional sunrise and sunset approaches will not work. I had set up at sundown at this outlook, and realised that the clouds were not going to play nice. So I moved on to another close water outlook, ditto. And I finally gave up as the light levels fell, and the ‘unmissable’ colours rose to the side, and took many frames of a traditional sunset 50 yards away, with a very poor and cluttered foreground, in a mad rush.

Afterwards, I composed (myself, not in the viewfinder), and returned, and sat for a while. The blaze of colour that was now behind me, lit this scene. The most beautiful warm light coloured the tree.

No filters, no nothing to enhance. I doubt I will get a better shot of this tree and outlook, but, did you miss its subtlety?

Canon EOS5DMkiii ~ Canon 16-35mm ~ F8 ~ 30secs multi-blend with luminosity masks ~ ISO 200