shots · how I shot this
Lightning Lake at 120mm: a portrait from the shore
Lightning Lake, Manning Park · shot November 13, 2023
- 1Walk from the lot to the day-use shore. This frame is the shore, not the loop.
- 2Zoom to the long end, 120mm, and step back. The snow-loaded forest across the water stacks up behind the person instead of shrinking away.
- 3Keep the red turban against the green and white. One strong colour in a winter frame does the work.
Shot on Nikon D850 · 24-120mm f/4
This is from 13 November 2023 at Lightning Lake in Manning Park: a clear, cold day with deep blue sky and long shadows on the snow. I walked from the lot. I did not walk the 9 km loop. It was shot on the Nikon D850, before the A7 IV, and the settings below are straight from the file.
Why these settings
At 120mm the far shore compresses: the forest across the lake sits right behind the person and fills the background, where a wide lens would push it into a thin strip. f/4 is the lens wide open, and at 1/160 and ISO 200 there is plenty of light on a clear November day.
Try it
Next time you take a portrait in front of a view, zoom all the way in and walk back until the person fits. The background gets bigger, not smaller. The trail guide is Lightning Lake.
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