Australian Camera — May-June 2017

77

Photograph by Trevern Dawes, copyright 2017.

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In PractIce

major concerns with image

noise. A heavy tripod would have

been another solution, but was

not used here because of the

difficulty of the terrain and the

need for wet weather gear.

How It Was Done

After exploring the sand hills and

working with a surface pitted

with raindrops under a dark,

gloomy sky, the clay pan became

the final target for the day. The

surface at the southern end

had a most unusual pattern of

drainage lines. A series of shots

was taken and the following

morning organised for another

inspection when, hopefully,

the lighting might be better.

It started to rain early in the

evening creating the need to

move the vehicle to more stable

ground near the main road.

Back on location at dawn, those

fascinating patterns had gone,

washed away by the rain.

Tricks Of The Trade

Landscapes can be one of the

most demanding and frustrating

realms of photography which is

why obtaining a successful shot

is immensely rewarding. When

a situation looks good, you must

capture it immediately and never

expect to be able to repeat or

improve your coverage the next

day, let alone the next hour.

Although a location like Lake

Everard normally is associated

with dry weather and clear

skies, you cannot always expect

such circumstances. Even in

the most unlikely weather, it

always pays to at least check

out the possibilities and use

seemingly hopeless conditions

to advantage. Just around the

corner or beyond the next sand

hill may lie something special.

magazine when it was launched

back in June 1979. He is still as

passionate about photography

now as he was back then, and

continues to write about many

areas of image-making, and

taking pictures for both books

and magazine articles.

The Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mark II D-SLR

fitted with the general-purpose

wide-angle EF 17-40mm zoom.

Aperture-priority auto exposure

control at ISO 800 sensitivity,

and manual focusing.

The Technique

Very dull lighting meant that the

usual ISO 200 sensitivity setting

would be too low to give the

desired combination of shooting

with a hand-held shutter speed

and sufficient depth-of-field via

a mid-range aperture of f8.0.

Consequently, the sensitivity was

pushed up to ISO 800, knowing

that this would not cause any

Degree Of Difficulty

(Out of 10)

The adverse weather conditions

initially held little promise of

adding more shots to the Lake

Gairdner collection, yet allowed

some remarkable landscapes

to be captured that ought to be

classified as strictly one-off. Low-

angled sunlight in red sand hills

can produce intense colour and

striking groove patterns created

by the wind, but in totally

different conditions landscapes

can still be found – as if to

suggest – you must never be

discouraged. A striking landscape

to warrant a maximum rating.

Can You Try This At

Home?

The prospect for pleasant

photographic surprises on the

home front may well be limited,

but there will always be times

and situations when some great

shots can be organised. Be ready

to respond and make the most of

the opportunities.

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