Sunrise

[Rita]

Well, I am not one to relish the thought of getting up early to take photos but I did this morning. While Southern California has snow and Alaska has rain we are delighting in beautiful sunshine. Ok, it's really cold, at least for here, but it is so nice. It was -8C when I went out, came back 2 hours later completely frozen. Guess there is a reason that gloves were invented, next time I will remember to take them with me As I was out so early I tried my hand at some sunrise images which I haven't done before. It really amazed me how much and how quickly the colouring in the sky was changing.

Here are a few samples of what I did. They were all taken using a tripod.

Feedback and critiquing is always welcomed.


1. f8, SS 1/10, ISO 100


2. f22, SS 1/5, ISO 100


3. f22, SS 1/13, ISO 100


4. f22, SS 1/125, ISO 100

[Shadowman]

Nice series, you really worked the scene.

[RhondaH]

Beautiful series! I am always amazed at how quickly the sky changes... I really like the reflection you got on image #1. Lovely.

[NorthernFocus]

Rita, that first shot is awesome. Not sure what lens you were using but either a different focal point or one stop tighter on aperture would have brought the immediate foreground into focus. That's the only drawback I see there. Did you take any with some of those rocks closer in the foreground?

[Mike Buckley]

These are all very nice but I especially like the first shot.

By the way, your second photo had a dust bunny in it and I fixed it for you. I did that by cleaning my monitor.

[Rita]

Thank you John and Rhonda.

Dan, I was using a 24-105 lens and I agree with you about the oof foreground. I omitted to check my aperture on this one and realized too late that it was at f8. Unfortunately no, I don't have any with the rocks in the foreground. I was concentrating more on the patterns in the sand than on the rocks.

Mike, thank you. Your dust bunny was funny. I kept trying to clone out a couple of dust bunnies and they just wouldn't leave.......yup, cleaning my monitor helped greatly

[Nicks Pics]

Really neat idea with the first shot. I also like the second and last. The third has a little too much random "stuff" in it, so it looks a little more like a snap shot. Nice job overall.

[Rita]

Thanks Nick. I am glad you commented on #3 because this is an image that I wasn't totally sure about. In my vision for it I thought it would be interesting with the shore and the pier almost coming to a point and then opening up to the sunrise. In my thoughts now I think that if that little island of sand wasn't there and if I had shown a bit more of the pier, enough to show what it was, it "might" have worked better.

[Mike Buckley]

Regarding the first photo...

I omitted to check my aperture on this one and realized too late that it was at f8.

Another way of putting that is that you forgot to check the depth of field by magnifying the image to 100% in your LCD. You could have done that before capturing the image using Live View if your camera has that capability and you could have done it after capturing the image. Having said that, it is not lost on me that the sun light was probably changing so rapidly that you felt pressed for time.

If the out-of-focus foreground bothers you, you might prefer cropping to make a panorama-style aspect ratio that eliminates most of the foreground. Doing so makes a very different and very nice image that places the emphasis on the rock formations.

[Mike Buckley]

In my vision for it I thought it would be interesting with the shore and the pier almost coming to a point and then opening up to the sunrise. In my thoughts now I think that if that little island of sand wasn't there and if I had shown a bit more of the pier, enough to show what it was, it "might" have worked better.

The image works fine for me as it is for the reasons that you planned. The lines formed by the land formations and the pier make a "V" for me that is quite effective.

[IzzieK]

I like #4 the best. That is a classic WoW!!!

I smiled at your intro...-8°C = 17.6°F. We have 10°F this yawning and I thought of taking the dogs out at the back but changed my mind. I just opened the door enough for them to go out by themselves! They have their fur coats... .... Windchill factor was nowhere I like. I just hope I do not have to go out and break the icycles off the ___ the little dog so he can come inside and warm himself off. But he's resilient. He survived.

[Rita]

Yes Mike, that is exactly what I didn't do

I just gave your crop suggestion a try and here is what I came up with.....



It is a very different image but I kind of like this one too. I also lightened the sand a bit.

[Rita]

Izzie, I almost had to break icicles off my tripod when I was leaving. Went to fold it up and it was frozen solid. Oh well, into the back seat with it and cranked up the heater

[Mike Buckley]

That last crop also works well.

[Rita]

Thanks Mike.

[GBO25]

Nice series. I like the leading lines in #1 and the sun star in #4. Great colours in all of them. The horizon looks a little skewed in #3 but it might be an optical illusion caused by the sweep of the shoreline??
By the way it's 32C (90F) where I am at the moment so I'm inside in the air conditioning to keep cool

[Rita]

Thank you for the feedback Graham. I will double check the skew in #3.
You are in air conditioning and I am sitting in front of the fireplace. I love the
fire but I prefer your temperature

[Barbara Ponder]

Rita you are a brave woman to venture out in such temperatures. The shots are nice and a reward for such bravery.

[Nicks Pics]

Hi
It was mostly the random pieces of unnatural things here and there that gave that shot a "tourist with a camera snapshot" feel to me, but I hadn't appreciated the thought you put into it's composition. I think you shouldn't be too discouraged about it.

[TonyW]

I like all of these and the blur at the bottom of the first somehow doesn't offend my eye at all.

I like the sunburst effect in the last one. I have been wondering since my student days what the physics of that is.

These are all very nice but I especially like the first shot.

By the way, your second photo had a dust bunny in it and I fixed it for you. I did that by cleaning my monitor.

I have a couple of dead pixels on my monitor that Photoshop won't deal with no matter how much I try.