Week 13 Winner
The winner of Week 13 of our #52weeksofnature photo contest is Marshall Cody. Perspective, light and composition are key elements of photography. This shot of a lone pine tree with the predawn glow and crescent moon has all the right ingredients. Marshall has won a $100 gift code to hippytree.com and we are donating $100 to the Access Fund on his behalf. Learn more about Marshall below:
Where was the image shot?
I shot this image in Rocky Mountain National Park early morning before sunrise. I arrived at the trailhead around 4AM and hiked to Emerald Lake to shoot the alpenglow on the ridgeline.
How long have you been shooting?
I’ve been shooting most of my life. When I was six or seven my dad gave me one of those plastic disposable cameras when we went to an airshow. I remember how stoked I was hearing the shutter click and winding the plastic wheel to roll over to the next frame, and how bummed I was when the photos were developed and looked terrible. I took a photography class in high school and I spent as much time as I could in the darkroom. I studied journalism and digital photography in college. I now work full time as a contract photographer.
Any shooting rituals?
Most of the time I go shooting super early in the morning so you could say that a good cup of coffee is a ritual. I also really love the drive to a shoot. I’m usually by myself so I listen to music the whole way. The morning I shot this photo I was listening to the album “Alligator” by The National.
What camera did you use and what were the settings?
When I got my Sony a7 I thought it was the coolest camera I’d ever use and to this day it’s one of my main shooters. But, at the end of the day, the best camera is the one you have in your hands and your eye is the most important tool. I believe I shot this photo at f/4 and let the camera select the shutter speed. I imagine I had the ISO set to 50 or 100. I took this on a 70-200mm telephoto lens.
What’s your favorite subject matter to shoot?
Landscapes. I love utilizing natural light and big layouts of mountains, rivers, canyons or anything outdoors. Even in super popular locations, everyone may be looking at the same thing or the same scene but each photo can be so totally different.
Do you shoot with a crew or shoot solo?
I get in the zone pretty heavy when I shoot so I’ve accepted that it’s much easier to shoot by myself. It's not the easiest to find people who want to get up in the middle of the night, drive a couple hours and then hike up a mountain for sunrise.
