NZPhotographer Issue 43, May 2021

purchase a week after lockdown when the whole
country was having a sale. I also purchased an
Acer Nitro 7 gaming laptop and a separate 28”
screen and have since purchased a 15-85mm lens
as well. Within a week of my initial purchases, I was
photographing RAW - Induction by fire! I had never
previously used any digital post processing however,
much of the language from my 35mm processing
days abounds, and has made the transition to postprocessing
in Gimp easier.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SUNSET CHASING…
My sunset chasing has quickly become an
obsession, heading out two, three, four even five
evenings a week. I quickly discovered the secret
sauce of photography that my younger self didn’t
know… the magic of Golden Hour! Within 15
minutes of my home, in Whanganui, I have the
choice of 4 beaches, 2 lakes, and a river. Although
I would like to go and photograph the rest of the
country, I have discovered there are benefits to
capturing the same places again and again. I now
pay more attention to the play of light, how the sun
moves across the sky during the course of a year,
the cycles of the moon, the changing seasons, the
tides and the clouds.
TELL US ABOUT CAPTURING THE SHOT TITLED
'AWESOME PINK SKY'
September 16th 2020 was much like any other
evening at my favourite beach, a pleasant evening
with the promise of warmer weather to come. I
was happy photographing the sunset when I felt a
presence behind me. I looked above me and saw
this captivating pink cloud moving across and filling
the sky. Suddenly a man appeared beside me, he
gasped in awe at the sky, and ran down the beach,
I assume to get ahead of the cloud. We have a joke
in my house, that if the kids suggest that I run, I tell
them not to swear at me, so I didn’t follow him.
So, I found myself under the cloud wondering
how to photograph it. After a couple of different
compositions, I lined up next to a footbridge to
anchor the scene. To my delight the guy who had
run down the beach came back and appeared in
my frame, I captured several images as he walked
across the bridge. He apologised but I laughed and
showed him the image for without his silhouette
there is nothing to indicate the size of the cloud. It is
the possibility of capturing breath-takingly gorgeous
nights like this that has given me the mindset that
almost every evening is worth heading out for.
WHAT POST-PROCESSING DID YOU DO?
Aside from a slight adjustment to the S-curve, and healing
a couple of spots in the foreground, post-processing
of this image was minimal. I am well aware that postprocessing
is my weakest area, but the best way to
learn is frequent repetition, and to have fun! My folder
of images titled ‘For when I learn more editing skills’ is
growing, as I can see what I want to achieve with some
of my photos but don’t have the necessary skills, yet.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD DO
DIFFERENTLY IF GIVEN ANOTHER CHANCE AT
CAPTURING THIS EXACT SAME SCENE?
This shot is my home screen on my laptop so I’m
already happy with it however, if I could re-take this
exact shot I’d increase the depth of field, ideally I’d
also own a wide-angle lens! Two of my goals for this
year are to learn focus stacking and how to create
panos. This cloud would have looked great in a
Panoramic format. However, there is every possibility
that had I been capturing a pano, I would have missed
the candid nature of the man appearing in my frame.
ANY FINAL WORDS?
I am loving having a camera in my hands again and
the ability to creatively express myself. I have also
discovered that there is a great deal of joy in sharing
that creativity with others. I joined Excio because they
state “We are on a mission to change the way creative
talents are rewarded.” If I have learnt anything in life,
it is to follow passionate people. Passionate people
inspire and encourage others, and get things done. I
sincerely hope that Excio are successful in their mission -
creative talents ought to be rewarded.
WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE?
www.facebook.com/sandralovessunsets
www.instagram.com/sandralovessunsets
excio.gallery/sandra
BEHIND THE SHOT IS PROUDLY
SUPPORTED BY
8 May 2021 NZPhotographer