Congratulations to David Shield for winning the recent Shooting a Concept assignment with the image, “Throne of Dreams.” See more of David Shield’s photography at www.davidshieldphotography.com.
Winner: “Throne Of Dreams” By David Shield
“I spent a night in the Valley of Dreams so I could photograph a particular area at sunset, night time and sunrise,” explains Shield. “For this night image, I wanted to convey the feeling of magic that this valley evokes in me. I envisioned a composition that would include a feature known as Alien Throne with the Milky Way rising above it, which I hoped wouldn’t only transform the viewer into the scene, but also create the magical and otherworldly sensation that I experienced when visiting here. To present this shot the way I envisioned it, I set my tripod up a little after sunset so I could photograph the foreground using a low ISO and capture high detail. Camping very close by allowed me to return to my tripod at about 3 a.m. and photograph the Milky Way until I was able to complete the desired composition. Both shots were blended later during post-processing.”
Sony a7R lll, Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, iOptron Sky Tracker (used to make a separate exposure for the Milky Way, which was 242 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1000.).