Sushant Anand (@founder) is a technical experience designer building Netflix’s internal platform - one of the lucky few who get to dabble across both design and technology. “Prior to joining Netflix,” he explains, “I moved to the San Francisco Bay area in California a few years back and immediately fell in love with the variety and availability of outdoor activities. I didn’t even realize when, but over the course of time I started getting positive feedback on what I was capturing on these adventures. As the pandemic hit, and we lost social activities, a friend convinced me to invest in Sony’s lineup and take photography more seriously - he promised there was magic in the G Master lenses. So what started as an occasional hobby turned into a full-time passion and led me to travel extensively across California capturing moments that felt special.” We came across this beautiful windmill landscape image of his and connected with him to learn the story behind the shot. Keep reading as he explains how he captured it with his Sony Alpha 7 III and the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master.

Photo by Sushant Anand. Sony Alpha 7 III. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/9, ISO 125

How a Netflix technical experience designer captured an image of rolling green meadows he describes as “reminiscent of Windows XP” using a subtle telephoto compression technique.

The Scene

I had half a day to spend by myself an hour away from home and I was ready for an adventure. The car was packed with music, snacks, and my trusted camera bag. I frequently came across these windmills along the highway and had an urge to get closer. After some quick research, I set out to spend the day photographing along a sparingly used road with time to myself. I had recently bought new tires that promised some off-road adventure so when I came across a dirt path off the road I knew I’d be spending my day there.

Photo by Sushant Anand. Sony Alpha 7 III. Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G. 1/250-sec., f/14, ISO 500

It was such a beautiful afternoon with rolling green meadows reminiscent of Windows XP, a herd of cows to give me company and a vantage point where I could see dozens of windmills slowly match the pace of the day. Though I really appreciated the day, I knew I was missing the special shot. So after picking my mom and wife I went back to watch the sun set. That’s when the light changed and I had that moment to capture perfect colors I was admiring all day.

Photo by Sushant Anand. Sony Alpha 7 III. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/640-sec., f/5.6, ISO 2000

The Gear

I shot this with the Sony Alpha 7 III and the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master lens. Prior to buying this lens I primarily used the Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master for landscape photography – which I love as well. But, a telephoto for landscape offers a different type of creative expression that resonates quite strongly with me.

The Shot

If you go through my gallery, you’ll notice that I love balanced symmetrical perspectives, so this was a pretty straightforward shot. The telephoto lens was key to get close enough to the windmill. The light was mostly fading but I wanted enough in focus so used f/9 at ISO 125. I needed a fast enough shutter speed since I was hand holding the camera with a long and slightly heavy lens. Since my focal distance was 192mm I tried shooting at 1/160-sec. and didn’t get much blur. I knew I had what I wanted to shoot and now to just get back home to cull and edit my photos.

The Edit

I use Lightroom Classic. I typically start out removing dust specks and changing the profile to standard. Since I captured this shot pretty dark, I had to reduce highlights, increase shadows and adjust black and whites. Next I created masks for the sky and ground to work on them separately while ensuring I don’t overdo any edits. The scene was naturally vibrant but subtle so I was looking to keep that feeling undisturbed. There wasn’t much else to edit - just my excitement to share this photo with others. 

See more of Sushant Anand’s work on Instagram @founder.