At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For September we chose an image from our Lofoten Norway Workshop created by Lauren King. Lauren was in the right spot at the right time. As a portrait photographer Lauren immediately was drawn to the couple on the beach. We hope you enjoy Lauren’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to September 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Lauren King
The Story…
We were all on the beach. We wanted to make sure we had lined up for the shot without other people being in the shot. I had my super-wide lens on to capture the full arch of the creek.
I have been trying to work on shooting from different angles. I was holding my camera above my head and finger touching on the screen. Then this couple walked into the scene.
I waited for the couple to find their spot. Then…..voila! It just happened.
I have been working on sunstars and sunstar placement in my images. Getting a sunstar right behind the little mountain with the couple in the foreground was my goal.
I did very little in post process. I smoothed some of the sand in the foreground. I also worked on slightly cropping the image so that the sunstar was in the right place and the couple’s shadow was still in the frame.
EXIF Data:
Nikon Z6ii, Nikon 14-24 lens shot at 15 mm
F22, 1/100 sec, ISO 100
Manual Mode
Lauren’s Tips for Photographing Travel Images:
Tip 1: Think outside of the box. Think about what people are not getting. What can you shoot that is not right in front of your face? What is not obvious?
Tip 2: Use the reticulating screen. If you use the screen when shooting people, they may not realize you are taking a photo. This means they will be less self-conscious in the image.
About Photographing in the Lofoten Islands
Oh my goodness, it was amazing!
I felt like we were lucky with the weather. I expected a lot of greens from Norway. I did not expect all the reds and yellows at ground level. We photographed at a small lake one day and I could have stayed there all day.
Lofoten is very pristine. It was nice to be out in the fresh air. From the grand views to the tiny flowers – there was always something to shoot. There were worlds within worlds.
Cabin Shoots:
Everybody was at Nusfjord and went up the hill above the yellow cabin. It was muddy and I did not think I would make it up there.
I told myself to go back down and find something that no body else had seen. I went in between the buildings and this is what I found (image above).
I did very little in post process for this image. I cropped a small bit. I also removed a person who was standing below one of the windows in front of the yellow cabin.
In my mind this was a modern take on Norway even though they are old cabins.
At Statles Rorbuer, where we stayed I went out by myself on an afternoon break. Even before I got to Norway, I knew I wanted to try selective color on the cabins. I saw the line-up of cabins and knew it was the right one for my image. I used a color range mask to select the cabins and worked with Cree on the editing.
On Lauren’s Horizon:
Inagua Island, Bahamas for flamingos
France near Paris
Austria and Switzerland
Everywhere else without snakes!
We are headed back to the Lofoten Islands in Norway this winter on February 18-25 for snowy landscapes and the Northern Lights. Space is still available. Click here to read more.
Where are Tom and Cree?
We are looking forward to our next photo adventure in Acadia National Park. Mid-October is the perfect time to be in Maine for red fall leaves and we are headed there next week with a full group of photographers.
To see our 2023 schedule, click here
We hope you are enjoying a great fall. Thanks for reading our posts!
Tom and Cree
Absolutely stunning images!! Good job Lauren!!