Prairie Light

Fortune was on my side this sunrise. I could barely make out the layers of clouds along the horizon when I arrived at first light. The broken cloud that lit up with reds was actually a bit behind me and to the right. Over the next 5 mintues, the cloud movement shifted that colorful cloud in frame. Suddenly it became the subject of this prairie view that included foreground rocks, some small rolling hills, and a lone oak tree a couple hundred yards away.

While the light show was going off, a local policeman pulled his cruiser off the road and approached me. Of course, my first thoughts were: "What the hell did I do? What could I have done to get in trouble?" I wasn't trespassing; my car was parked legally; I was using a tripod. Turns out while handing me his business card he asked, "Can you believe this sunrise!?! Mind sending me a copy of your photograph?" Like I said, fortune was on my side this sunrise.

TECH TALK:
1. 3-stop reverse GND (graduated neutral density filter)
2. Image underexposed by 2-3 stop to saturate in camera
3. Serious dodging of the foreground and selective dodging of the sky
4. Reds DEsaturated in post as it was one of the most vibrant sunrise skies I've ever seen
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