Pic(k) of the week 14: SILHOUETTE ISLAND, SEYCHELLES
Silhouette island is the third largest granitic island of the Seychelles after the main island Mahe and Praslin. Although the island often shows up as a nice silhouette from Mahe at sunset (facing west), it got its name after the French minister of finances Etienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), under Louis XV.
The island with its highest peak of 751m (Mt Dauban) lies about 20km Northwest of Mahe and only has a population of 200; mainly consisting of people working for the Hilton hotel on the island.
Over the 8 days I spend in the Seychelles, I shot a large variety of images of this photogenic island which this time of the year almost always has a single orographic cloud on top of it. My favorite image is one where a bunch of granite boulders frame the island and bright white cloud above it.
Image details:
- Fujifilm X-S10 with XF16-55 f2.8 lens
- ISO 160, f16, 1.25s, 55mm focal length
- RAW file development in Lightroom Classic
- DxO ColorEfex Pro4 using Color Contrast filter
- DxO SilverEfex for black and white conversion
The image is a typical example where I started shooting the scene wider and then gradually moved in closer. In landscape photography (and other genres), it is often more about what to exclude rather than the things you include.
Although I’ve been using a non image stabilized lens here, the In Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) of the X-S10 saved the day. Yes, I could also increase the ISO, but wanted to provide the best image quality possible.
In my Seychelles gallery you’ll find a colour version of the above image. Personally I prefer the black and white version as it takes me back to Ansel Adams’ granite rock work at Yosemite.
Remember: “You don’t take a photography. You make it”. Ansel Adams
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