Oscoda Pier Sunrise
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Sep, 2022Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken very early on a Sunday morning at daybreak, while my wife and I were staying at our daughter and son-in-law's cabin in Oscoda, Michigan. This pier is downtown, and goes out into Lake Huron, one of my favorites!Time
I remember checking out this pier the night before I planned to shoot the sunrise, and I'd planned out the perfect spot to set up my tripod and camera to take multiple long-exposure shots. I had a headlamp I was using to set everything up in the very early hours, just when the sun was starting to hint at rising. As I recall, it was about 5 a.m. when I arrived, and by the time I was done shooting it was 6:30 or 7:00. The problem was, a TON of people also had the same idea, and there were many that walked out to the end of the pier during the exposures. Fortunately, long exposures often "erase" folks. The day after I posted this on a local Oscoda Facebook page, one of the ladies who was chatting with me took a photo of me from behind, so I got to see what I looked like while I was working!Lighting
The lighting was all ambient, from nature! The walkway was slightly illuminated by the fluorescent lights along the rails.Equipment
I used my Canon 90D with my 10-18mm wide angle Canon lens, my Haida M10 filter system with a 10-stop ND and a 3-stop graduated ND, and my trusty tripod. I also used a remote shutter trigger to minimize camera shake.Inspiration
I'd seen similar photos before, and I wanted to do my take on this type of shot. As I mentioned above, I scouted out the location the evening before and took a few hand-held shots, and found where I thought would be the best place. I was hoping for a nice sunrise, and I think it turned out great.Editing
The photo was post processed in Luminar Neo, with only minor corrections to remove some perspective remnants from the wide angle lens, and some minor color enhancements to enrich the colors of the sky appropriately. I also softened the bluish hue of the wood planking from the fluorescent bulbs.In my camera bag
I typically carry my Canon 80D with five lenses (Canon 50mm f/1.8, 10-18mm wide angle zoom, 18-55mm zoom, and 55-250mm zoom, and Tokina 100mm macro prime lens). I also have my Haida M10 pro filter holder with a 10-stop ND and 3-stop GND filter and circular polarizer. Of course, I always have my standard accessories like spare batteries, lens hoods, memory cards, etc., and I carry a Godox V860-II speedlight with MagMod Sphere & MagBeam flash modifiers with color gels and gobos.Feedback
My advice is always simple...soak up everything about where you are, and feel the story that starts to reveal itself about your subject and your surroundings. I'm always amazed that eventually a compelling story begins to emerge, and my job then becomes how best to capture that story. Sometimes that's easy to do, sometimes it's damn hard, and sometimes I'm not able to do it at all. It's those times that I just enjoy the story and the moment, and then later it drives me to get better at my craft so in the future I can perhaps succeed.
