So this is an occasional series where I give a full account of a particular image of Berowra Photography… in this case it’s all about patience and not giving up…
My original story went something like … “We all have special places in our lives. I was introduced to this area of Berowra by a good friend, and it is very special to him and his wife for many reasons. I decided I would try to do it justice, and returned over many evenings to take photos at sundown, the essence of Berowra Photography. There is a wonderful array of patterns in the rocks and the tree sits perched high above the valley below, seemingly acting as a Sentinel on High.
This is one interpretation with the tree standing proud above the rock wall, and the afterglow of the sun’s rays burning bright pink against the clouds. The trees sway in the dying light, and a two second exposure brings life to the branches. More interpretations will follow…. It’s a great, but largely unknown spot…”
A few more details:-
What you don’t see.
I had an idea of what I wanted to take, however, the weather had a few other ideas. Previously I had been to the area at least twice, maybe three or four times and come away with images that were ok, but didn’t do it for me. I think it’s also a good idea – if you can – to get to know a place before hoping that you will get a so-called ‘great’ photo of it. I re-shoot to fix those little composition niggles that pop up.
Also! It’s a really really photogenic rock area overlooking Berowra Valley Regional Park. That’s not spelled ‘flat’ in any sense of the word. There was no way any of my tripod legs were the same height 🙂 and as usual I was sitting on the floor in a highly uncomfortable position. But you knew that…
I used a shutter speed of 2 seconds, F11, focal length was 31mm, and it was a vertical stitch.
What I saw when I was there
I used the ‘reverse sunset’ approach, and the actual sunset had been ok, but, the sun set behind me in terms of this image. As it was I got really lucky with the beautiful pink glow on the high clouds. I wanted to frame the valley with the arching tree, so it looked out into the distance. And acted as a sort of Sentinel. And who did I see when I was there…?? So many people – good friends, strangers, all sorts, two-legged and four-legged… And of course I made the right kind of pleasantries, but when the beautiful light hits, I work, and fast….
What I saw Afterwards
Back in front of the monitor I really wasn’t aware of what I was up against. I had originally taken a LOT of images to create what I hope would be a really wide panorama. The trouble was, that at the time I had a really old PC. I also didn’t have a job, so the last thing I wanted to do was to spend any of my hard-earned cash on a new PC, since at the time I was looking at ‘not-earned’ instead!
So I pressed the ‘stitch’ button, and away the PC chugged. I went away, made myself a cup of coffee, came back, and bless me, the progress bar still wasn’t… Progressing that is. I reckon I could have pitched a small tent and built a campfire to have enjoyed my coffee beside, each time I tried to stitch. And the results would not line up in the stitched file. Unusable. Eventually I reduced the number of frames in the stitch, and was presented with this image. Wow!!! I hadn’t imagined the wide angle or fish-eye aspect of the image, but it let in a whole lot more of the lovely pink afterglow in the top left. I was so happy with the effect.
Am I Happy?
You bet. It’s a really unusual take on a very pretty area. I’ve never seen it photographed before. However, like all of Berowra (and particularly Berowra Valley Regional Park or Berowra Valley National Park or whatever it is officially called today) the right light is needed to bring it to life to say – this is Berowra Photography. I am even happier that my endeavours paid off. It’s not a difficult place to get to but it takes nearly half an hour each time to arrive at from my home, so the moral of the story is, don’t give up 🙂
9/10
Thanks for reading.
Andrew Barnes
The Berowra Photographer
