“Shop the Shot” is a regular series on ALC where we highlight some of our favorite images taken by photographers from all over the world and reveal the gear and settings used to create them.
Photographer: Dirk Dallas
The Story:
I created this image while traveling around the western side of New York, in an area about 20 minutes outside of a small town called Pond Eddy. I went there to capture the changing colors of fall as the weather was near its transition to winter. The warm scenery was so intense and vivid and beautiful, it truly was unlike anything I have ever seen before (I am based in Southern California where there are much less trees around).
During this trip I was shooting a lot with my DSLR and while that was fun I was itching to capture something unique from the air with my drone. None of the locations really caught my eye until I started driving on the road you see pictured. When I first entered this dense forest I remember no longer being able to see the sky due to the heavy tree canopy cover that completely blocked my view when looking up. After driving further in I was pleasantly surprised to come across this one section where there was a small break in the tree cover. When I saw the break in the trees I knew I would be able to get a unique drone shot that I personally had never seen before
At first I just photographed the break in the trees but I realized that it was a bit too abstract and that I needed some type of subject that could serve as a focal point. That is when I decided to move the car out into view and centered it into the frame. Having the car was helpful because not only did it provide me with a subject, it also helped bring a sense of scale next to the abundant amount of trees that surrounded it.
This is one of my favorite drone images that I’ve captured and I am humbled to share that it has been selected as an ‘Official Selection’ at the 2017 New York City Drone Film Festival as well as the 2017 London Drone Film Festival.
You can learn more about Dirk Dallas and see more of his drone photos on his website From Where I Drone.
The Gear:
The Settings:
Height: 350ft
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/100
f /2.8
