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After Volker Birke (“Menindee”) and Shenshen Dou (“Latourell Falls”), we have chosen to feature the photographer Pere Soler and his picture “Final Destiny”, an extraordinary aerial scene over Icelandic rivers. 






As Pere explains:

“This is an aerial picture taken in the north of Iceland, over a delta of a river coming from the biggest central glacier. The idea was to search shapes, contrasts and impact with only a few elements.
 
Aerial photography is my passion and I think it reflects the best the way I express the world. My family sometimes says to me: "In another life you must be a bird..."
 
Before flying, I always prepare the trip carefully. I look for interesting locations with an artistic potential, such as marshes or estuaries. This photo was taken in that state of mind. Before taking off, I already knew what I wanted to do and I asked the pilot to fly over such areas.
 
That day I was fortunate as there were many geese flights. I took something like 20 photos, some pictures with birds, others without. I finally chose the best I found by its composition and color contrast. I chose the title "Final Destiny" to relate the sad tale of these three birds arriving to a deserted island after a long trip, where there are no food, no trees and nothing to do.
 
I used a tele-zoom lens (70-200mm) combined with Canon 5D Mk III. The most important tip of this kind for pictures deals with the speed. You need a fast shot to catch the exact moment. I usually shoot up 1/500 second with continuous shutter as well without glass in the plane. I didn't use any filter polarizer though they can be sometimes useful to avoid water reflections.
 
The post processing was quite simple, with only basic adjustments like contrast, levels and focus to get a natural view. I am not fond of unreal colors. My motto is "live the moment" in situ, not at home but I respect all ways.

In 99% of my pictures post processing is very soft. I don't have Photoshop installed on my computer. I only use Lightroom with basic edition and don't need more, perhaps in future...”
 
 
This  picture has been awarded twice : “ Winner in "Inspired by Nature" Montphoto – 2014” and “ - Gold Medal FZS in "NATURE", International Contest NARAVA - 2015 (Slovenia)