joshtagi
FollowUpon catching the first train of the day from Manarola to Vernazza (two of the main towns along the beautiful Italian Riviera, more commonly known as Cinque Ter...
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Upon catching the first train of the day from Manarola to Vernazza (two of the main towns along the beautiful Italian Riviera, more commonly known as Cinque Terre) I was lucky enough to be greeted with a stunning sunrise.
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Long Exposure In Nature Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at dawn in Vernazza, one of the five beautifully, picturesque towns that comprise the UNESCO World Heritage listed region of Cinque Terre along the Italian Riviera.Time
I remember this shot vividly, having awoken in the early hours of the morning in the nearby town of Manarola, where I was staying, I caught the first train of the day with a fellow amateur photographer I had met the day before across to Vernazza and rushed down the cobble stoned streets from the station to the nearby beach. In order to get to this location you have to walk through a pathway that has been carved out of the rock face itself and we were lucky enough to get there just in time to capture the sun rising.Lighting
I was fortunate enough that the morning that I took this shot had a few clouds in the sky near the horizon, which were lit up in a vibrant pink glow brought about by the rising sun. In my personal experience, sunrise is generally the best time to take photos as the light is a lot more softer and there are much less people around. It just makes for a much more beautiful and authentic experience.Equipment
Nikon D90 Nikkor 18-105mm f3.5 Manfrotto Travel Angel Tripod Hoya ND400Inspiration
Having only allocated a few days to be in Cinque Terre I wanted to try and capture the beauty of the coastline in this amazing part of the world in all different types of light. I had taken shots during sunset and at night the night before, and wanted to capture the coast at sunrise. Having complete a trek between all five towns, I was particularly draw to this pebbled beach in Vernazza, however at the time it was full of people so I made a point of returning at sunrise in an attempt to capture the area as it naturally is.Editing
This photo is actually a vertical panorama comprised of 4 photos that was stitched together in Adobe Photoshop. As I shot the photo in RAW, I used typical adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw in order to enhance the photo including boosts to Saturation and Contrast. In addition I had to use a GND filter in Camera Raw to dark the sky and also had to utilize the adjustment brush to bring out some detail in the shadow parts of the rocks in the right of the photo.In my camera bag
Nikon D90 Nikkor 18-105mm f3.5 Manfrotto Travel Angel Tripod Hoya ND400 I taken my Nikon D90 everywhere, it's the best camera that I owned (at the time) and the standard zoom lens that came with it is so versatile and can be used in almost any situation. As I was backpacking around Europe at the time, but still wanted to take some great long exposure shots, the Manfrotto Travel Angel Tripod is a great, light weight tripod that you can carry around all day with ease and is stable enough to get you great long exposure shots even in windy conditions or amongst the waves at the beach.Feedback
The best advice I can give is to just scout the location that you want to photograph a few days in advance in order to find specific viewpoints and perspectives that you want to capture during the hours of best light (i.e. golden hour/sunrise/sunset) so that if you're rushing to catch the sunrise (like I was) that you know what's in the area and what shot you are looking for. Additionally for seascape photography, the use of a tripod and ND filter to blur the movement of the waves is essential if you're looking to capture a photo similar to the one I shot above. Alternatively use of shutter speeds around 0.5s can really capture the movement of waves well (depending on the conditions on the beach at the time)