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It's the first day of the year, an unexpectedly warm winter day makes the snow on the trees melt already and the sun comes bursting through the clouds. Read more
It's the first day of the year, an unexpectedly warm winter day makes the snow on the trees melt already and the sun comes bursting through the clouds.
What a gift!!
Read less
What a gift!!
Read less
Oct, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in People Hiking Project
Contest Finalist in Once Upon A Time Photo Contest
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the woods of the north Austrian mountains. It was the only place all the way up the mountain where the forrest wasn't as dense and dark as usual. So the sun came breaking through the branches unexpectedly.Time
I shot this photo on January 1st of 2016. It was quite a promising start into the year! We were getting up pretty early for the new year and went for a hike in the morning. It was too foggy when we started. No chance of any clear shots. But exactly when we walked past this sparse place of the forrest, the sun started to come out. It was so warm suddenly, indeed, that the sun made the snow on the trees' branches melt immediatly. It was just a magical atmosphere then.Lighting
As it was winter, the sun was super low even in the middle of the day which gave it an incredible warm feeling. I overexposed it to show how the light was flooding the scene like silent waves.Equipment
As we started without the expectation of great weather so I just took minimal gear with me: A Canon 6D with the 24-105mm f/4 IS. Nothing else was at hand. But it was virtually impossible to mess up this shot!Inspiration
I saw Franziska standing on the stump of the big cut down tree and greet the sun for the first time that year. It felt just magical with the drops of melt water coming down from the branches in the warm sun. This sight created an almost unworldly feeling in me which made me stare into the sun, too, for a moment until I dared to take the shot.Editing
I developed the RAW file in Lightroom, as usual. Not a lot of post-processing went into it, to be honest, except color correction. Plus, the upright perspective correction to achieve to trees being parallel which makes the eye wander though the depth.In my camera bag
I'm a big fan of keeping it simple, most of the time. Especially when I'm hiking, I hate to go heavy even though I constantly have the feeling of being under-equipped. While hiking, I love the Canon 6D because it's so small and light for a full frame DSLR. Often I just pack the 24-70mm f/2.8 or 24-105mm f/4 and a 15-30mm wide angle. Often when hiking, I even leave my tripod in the trunk of my van because I feel faster on my feet without it.Feedback
I think that this shot is a lucky result of getting up early when nobody else was up. Getting up early ensures you, that other people are most likely still in bed and you get the most beautiful atmosphere of the day, usually.
