Assignments are brought to you by mpb.com
Poppy fields are a favourite photographic subject of mine. Sometimes I am driving in the countryside when I see the red flowers covering large areas of the landscape, and I must stop and explore around. If the light is interesting, I spend time making some photos. If it is not, I try to return later. The latter was what happened with this photo. I was driving before the town of Vila Nova de Milfontes, in the coastal region of southwest Portugal, when I noticed this field covered with poppies.
The light was poor, so it was not worth it to stop at the time, but I made a mental note to return at a better hour for landscape photography. A few days later, I was back in this location before sunrise, for a dedicated photo session. I had my tripod and a wide-angle lens on my camera, and it was a beautiful early spring morning. As the sun started to crest the hills in the east, I took this shot the backlit red poppies and yellow rapeseed flowers. In this type of lighting situation, some care is required not to overexpose the highlights, so I kept watching the histogram while adjusting the exposure. Shooting Raw also facilitated adjusting the tonal range of the image file later.
I wanted the final image to reflect what I had seen in the field, and I managed to achieve that. This type of light lasted less than a few minutes, and I was glad I was prepared to make the most of it.
Upload YOUR Picture • WIN $200 Prizes
Our $200 prizes consist of $100 cash and $100 mpb.com voucher
Did you know that now we offer a VIP membership? Create your Personal Portfolio Page and let us share it monthly to over 300,000 members and followers.
Benefits of VIP membership:
• Your Personal Portfolio Page – click here to see sample
• We promote your portfolio monthly to over 300,000 followers
• Download 12 new issues of the magazine every year
• Download ALL back issues
• Download premium eBooks worth £19.45.
• Upload and share up to 70 images per year via our monthly assignments and picture submission forms
• Your uploaded pictures/posts stay attached to your page for as long as you are a VIP member, which could be for ever
• Fast Support – we aim to reply within 12 hours
• Submission Priority – your submission goes to the front of the queue
Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor