Sunrise in the Aschauer Valley in Austria
Sunrise in the Aschauer Valley in Austria
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Contest Finalist in My Favorite Trip Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 13
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Behind The Lens
Location
This is the view from a mountain into the Ashauer valley in Austria. It's situated in the middle of the Tiroler Alps. We were on a summer holiday, camping not far from this amazing valley.Time
I went out of bed early to capture the sunrise over these Tiroler Alps. Since it was summer, the sunrise was quite early, but since this is in the mountains, it takes a while before the sun is rising over the highest mountain peaks. I took this shot just before 7 am, when the sunlight hit summit of the mountain at the horizon, while the valley was still deprived from sunlight. The morning fog was still visible between the trees while the temperature of the day quickly rose. It was a magical morning.Lighting
Although the valley was covered in shadow, the sun already lit the summit of the distant mountain. It made a proper exposure nearly impossible without a neutral density gradient filter, which I happened to have with me at the time. It allowed me to capture the dynamic range of the scenery in one image.Equipment
Although I was reviewing the Sony A9 at that time, I also carried my trusty Canon EOS 5D mark IV with me. I used a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2,8L II IS USM at 135mm focal distance. The rig was mounted onto my Gitzo GT3542LS tripod with the Really Right Stuff BH55 ball-head. The filter I used was the three stops Haida series 100 gradual neutral density filter, together with the Haida CPL filter.Inspiration
I was looking for some moody morning twilight photos in the Alps were I spend my holidays as a kid. The area was known to me, but new at the same time. The Ashauer valley was always a sort of mysterious place because the road ended far into the valley. I decided to go and take a look that morning because of that memory and it turned out quite nicely.Editing
The raw image was processed in Lightroom Classic and consists out of an optimization of contrast and colors. I used local post-processing with masks to fine tune the exposure balance.In my camera bag
I'm a Canon user because I chose that brand long time ago. So at the time of this shot I always used the Canon EOS 5D mark IV with the 70-200mm, a 24-70mm and a 16-35mm lens. For landscapes I always carry a set of neutral density and gradual neutral density filters with me. And the polarization filter, of course. All of this was placed in a F-stop backpack.Feedback
If you want to capture this kind of images, you have to take your time. Get up early, even in summer time, and go out. Scouting during daytime is a good way to find interesting locations. If you're in between the mountains, remember that it can take a while before the sun has risen far enough to lit the valleys. But long before that, the mountain peaks will be lit by sunlight, offering a stunning view of a mountain landscape.