The photo is from Bhaktapur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since watching Ron Fricke’s film BARAKA, every time I visit Nepal (and I counted, it’s been 26 times 🙂 ), I try to wake up at sunrise in Bhaktapur and capture the city’s awakening.
Wedding photography, which is quite popular here, is naturally a significant industry globally as well. Many couples from China come to Nepal to have their wedding photos taken. When I encountered such a couple that morning, I first spoke to and met the photographer, and then, with their permission, I took a few photos.
This photo was taken at a 45-degree angle, with the sunrise in Durbar (Palace) Square coming from the left rear. I used a telephoto lens to create a strong backdrop with the perspective of the wooden columns.
With a wide aperture, I was able to achieve limited depth of field and highlight the bride. I also used (-) exposure compensation to ensure more accurate tonal rendering.
Camera: Olympus OMD EM1
Lens: 40 – 150 mm (150 mm was used)
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/800 s.
ISO: 200
Exposure Compensation: -1.3 stops
