photograph of the Christ monument, in rio de janeiro, brazil. this mountain is called "corcovado". this shot was taken from an overlook called "Dona Marta overlook", at Santa Marta favela, one of many places from where it's possible to have a wide view of the city.
that day was the second time i visited this overlook and the weather was great (unlike the first time i was there). it was the end of the day, the sun was setting. i wanted to photograph the corcovado mountain, showing the monument, but from a different point of view. so i felt the image would have a more creative look if i could somehow frame it with the branches of the trees blowing with the wind. so after some composition trials, i found the one of this photo, with the sun picking behind the branches, and the tree's and mountain's silhouettes slightly overlapping, but we can still see the distinct shapes due to the sunlight leaking on the atmosphere behind the branches.
the shy rainbow in the middle of the image was a happy accident. i noticed it only when i was back on my computer for the post-processing.
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gear: camera nikon D7100; lens 18-300mm f/3,5-5,6; tripod.
camera settings: 1/5000 sec; f/5; ISO 100; 40mm.
for the post-processing i used lightroom and photoshop. in lightroom i made basic little adjustments on highlight, clarity and WB. slightly tweaked the colors with calibration and color mix, just to enhance the blue on the sky and the delicate warm cast on the mountain. and finally applied an oval radial gradient raising the exposure on top of the mountain, affecting only the sky behind the mountain, to direct the light there. in photoshop i only made a simple color and light adjustment to enhance the small rainbow in the middle; cropped to a slight panoramic ratio; and finished off with a basic sharpening layer.
nc click
The monument loved by locals and the world. Nice angle!