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Sunrise in Punta Cana
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Sunrise in Punta Cana



behind the lens badge
cameraNIKON D7000

settings Aperture f/11.0 ISO 400 Shutter 10/8000 Focal Length 240/10 

upload_dateFeb, 2015

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Magnificent Capture
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mcampi
Superior Skill
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1 Comment |
mcampi Platinum
 
mcampi February 26, 2015
I could be there right now... Its Margo time !!!
C-Marie
C-Marie February 27, 2015
Definitely! :-)

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Tags

#silhouette #sunrise #sunset #palm trees #beach #ocean #Punta Cana #Dominican Republic
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken on the last morning my fiancé and I spent at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I had shot my best friend's wedding earlier that week, so we took advantage of the opportunity and made a vacation out of it!

Time

This was the sunrise we were too lazy to roll out of bed to witness on the days leading up to the end of our trip. With PERFECT weather all week, we decided to rough it on our last day and set the alarm for 5am. It was still mostly dark as we made our way down to the beach, but it was warm and breezy, and there were just enough clouds to guarantee us an interesting and beautiful sunrise.

Lighting

The sun rose slowly, giving plenty of time to position the camera and take some test shots. Then, just as the sun peeked over the horizon, everything came together. A little flare, a nice reflection on the water, and the backlit glow of the clouds framed by the silhouette of the palm trees.

Equipment

This shot was captured with the Nikkor 18-200mm Lens attached to a Nikon D7000 body on a tripod. To maintain some sharpness throughout the photo, the lens was closed to f/11 and was shot at 1/800s exposure with no flash. This combination gave nice dark silhouettes and prevented the sunrise from becoming overexposed.

Inspiration

This was the perfect ending to a perfect week in paradise. Throughout the week, I had negotiated with myself - I wouldn't set an alarm, but if I happened to wake up on my own, I would walk down to the beach to watch the sunrise. Of course, that was NOT the case all week. :-) On our last night, my fiancé and I made the executive decision to bite the bullet and force ourselves to roll out of bed, mainly because we didn't know if and when we'd ever have the chance to go back! As you can see, it was VERY much worth the effort. With the beach all but deserted, we were able to spend an hour together in our own little sliver of paradise.

Editing

Very minimal post-processing was required. Using Photoshop Elements, the blacks were brought up a tad and the reds and yellows were saturated a bit. The whole photo was then given a slight vignette, and mother nature handled the rest!

In my camera bag

I normally keep two camera bodies in my bag - my main Nikon D7000 and my backup Nikon D90. The Nikkor 18-200mm lens is extremely versatile, and I also carry the Tamron 28-75mm, f/2.8 for times where a more shallow depth of is needed. I also keep a set of extension tubes and a wireless remote with me, as well as my trusty Joby GorillaPod tripod for all of those precarious photographs my camera is dying to capture!

Feedback

Bring a camera EVERYWHERE. You never know when that perfect moment will strike - that span of time that can never be recreated in the same way again. For this particular photograph, we made sure to scope out our location about an hour prior to sunrise to give plenty of time to gather the best camera settings and to frame the image before Planet Earth threw the good stuff at us. Set the camera on a tripod and control it with a remote so that you still have the ability to perform your two favorite things at once - capture photos AND snuggle with your love! Once the sun actually does break over the horizon, the lighting will quickly change, so be sure you're ready well in advance and then, just click that remote over and over. The beauty of digital imaging is the ability to snap away now and delete later. As far as I'm concerned, if I don't have a photograph, it never happened - and this is one moment I never want to forget. <3

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