MY PHOTO REVIEW: STOREBAELT BRIDGE

In the series My Photo Review, I will review and analyse my own work. How I did it and what was involved in taking the shot. I will explain what I did on the level of composition, technicality and how I created the general mood and feel of the image.

Introduction

On our recent holiday trip to Denmark I was able to take a few shots of the Storebælt Bridge that connects Sjælland and Fyn. This is one of my must see and shoot locations on my bucket list during this holiday.

Time and location

We, me and my family, passed by the Storebælt Bridge on our way from Copenhagen towards Sønder Omme where our next B&B was waiting. Arrival time was around 6PM local time and we had about 30-40 minutes to find a good spot and shoot.

I already looked at the location with the help of Google Maps but quickly decided to stay on the left side of the bridge and make use of the small pier that is created. This allowed me to capture the curve of the bridge way better and align the sun with the bridge.

Multiple long exposure shots

I have made two compositions with multiple long exposure shots so that I can choose afterwards.

The LEE Big Stopper was used during the long exposure shots in combination with the Canon R5 fixed with the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM-lens.

Multiple long exposure shots with two compositions in Capture One.

Original photo

This is the original photo without any processing that I started working on after making my selection.

Original photo: ISO 100 - f9 - 26mm - 1m13s

The main reason why I choose this one is that the rocks in front have a better placement and add value to the photo because of their placement.

Composition

The original image is cropped as I didn’t like some lines in the foreground created by the rock on the left. The rock on the right is quite big.

In the middle between the rocks, there are several spots in the water that disturb the evenness that is present deeper in the photo. This caused too much distraction.

Areas of attention that should be left out.

As you can see in this cropped and adjusted photo, the rules of thirds is applied with the main focus on the massive pillars of the Storebælt Bridge on the left. The curved bridge comes from the right in the picture and goes to the sweep spot where the sun is. The sun is nicely aligned with the pillars and the reflection of the sun points straight at you.

Rules of third applied.

A second dynamic that is in place is the triangle form created by the bridge and the horizon and the way the rocks in front are placed providing perspective to the photo. The bridge and the way the rocks are placed also provide leading lines towards the main pillars of the bridge.

Perspective and leading lines towards the subject: the two main pillars of the bridge.

Light

In the original photo, the rocks are a bit dark and underexposed so these areas received a treatment with exposure, brightness, sharpness and clarity. The green on the rocks is a bit accentuated by adjusting the saturation.

Darker areas that are modified to provide some more details and texture.

I really like how the bridge goes from dark to bright near the pillars. The reflection of the sun highlights the bridge between the pillars giving it a nice effect.

Focus

And I think some people or photographers might say that the rocks aren’t 100% in focus which is a fault. Yes, in a lot of photos, the foreground will be sharp and in focus and be more part of the scene.

But, I never wanted the rocks to be sharp and stand out. So the focus point is placed deeper in the picture, in the water actually.

Main focus area.

I don’t want the eyes of the viewer go too much to the sharp and in focus covered in green rocks. For me, the Storebælt Bridge needs to be in focus as that is my main object. The rocks in front are there to add value to the composition: the perspective and leading line aspect.

Furthermore, because of the long exposure, there is some ‘mist’ around certain areas of the rocks. I wanted to match the rocks a bit more to the water by not taking them in focus.

Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken by the photographer.

The final photo

This is the final end result and you can see the photo in full width in my portfolio.

The final shot of the Storebælt Bridge.

If you have any thoughts, comments or anything else on ‘my photo review’, please use the comment section.