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I took the image during my photography journey in Patagonia-Chile, Torres del Paine National Park. Besides the amazing scenery created by the famous Cuernos towers, I was attracted by the special tree forms that I experienced during a few days prior to this particular capture. This is why my intention was to take an interesting frame with both within the frame, Cuernos towers, and interesting trees. I found this particular scene one day before as I was wading through the bushes with sharp spikes. I got to the place without a tripod and took some hand-held shots knowing that I must come back in good condition.
I came to the place early in the morning with the hope that the light conditions will be good, and I was happy to experience a beautiful calm atmosphere without strong wind. I was trying to set my camera at different angles until I found the composition I was satisfied with. One of the biggest difficulties was setting my tripod on the floating scrub that covered the entire possible place for taking this image. Once I moved even one leg the whole tripod immediately changed his position. I wish the ground was firm, but that was not possible from my chosen point of view. This is why I was motionless and even held my breath during the exposition. Luckily all the pictures were sharp as I intended.
I am taking my pictures to RAW format only. This is why I am using software for developing them, especially the Lightroom. I took several pictures using the bracketing technique. I developed each of these and then merged them using Nik collection. I never use any presets and this is why I have my own way of processing each picture. I am doing all the necessary steps manually. That varies from image to image. At this particular picture, I adjusted the white balance, pushed down the highlights a bit, decreased contrast, and increased clarity. Once the final image was merged from the bracketed ones I realized that there has been quite a complex foreground as it was showing too many useless details. I decided to darken the lower part of the picture in the Lightroom because of that, and I needed to correct it for a few times until I was satisfied with the result that is presented.
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Peter Svoboda
