Recently, when shooting landscapes at my favourite playground, it dawned on me that I might be ‘done’ with the location. I found myself shooting from the same (tested and tried) vantage points over and over again, seldomly improving on the photographs I had taken before. So time to move on. I spent a morning traversing the area and came at another open spot in the forest. Small, even smaller than the others, and only one fen. Also, much harder to get to. But, it is quite undulating terrain and it features several beautifully sculptured juniper bushes. So I decided to settle on the location for the coming months and see what I can get. Already on the first try, I had a very decent surise to play with. I shot against the light, but the contrast was so enormous that even with exposure blending, I failed to get a result that looked even remotely realistic. When I turned around, I was truck by what I saw. The pink bands across the sky were beautiful, and the juniper bush and barren heather was lit by the red rays of the rising sun. Surreal colors, almost a warmed up version of the northern lights, or Dutch aurora if you wish. Although I have yet to find the perfect vantage points and have to get to know the location better in all seasons, the start is promising and I look forward to shoot the area in snow or when the heather is in full bloom.
Dutch Aurora; Canon 5D Mark III w. 17-40/4L; 2s at F13 and ISO200; 2 stop soft ND Grad, tripod, remote release