chrispenfold

Pylon Dawn

A beautiful pre-sunrise scene down at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, UK in early September.

A beautiful pre-sunrise scene down at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, UK in early September.
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NIKON D3200

settings

Aperture f/11.0 ISO 100 Shutter 8/1

upload_date

Oct, 2014

Views

413

Likes

+14

Awards

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

All Star

Magnificent Capture

very beautiful image...

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A beautiful sunrise down at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, UK in early September

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo along the River Trent near Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire UK.

Time

This was taken at 05.57am on the 7th September 2014. It was a pretty chilly morning and there was steam rising off the water surface all the way along (not very visible on this shot). There were 3 or 4 fishermen sitting along the bank, having been out all night.

Lighting

I couldn't help being 'drawn in' by the beautiful pre-sunrise sky, the dark blue/purple of the upper atmosphere and the orange glow all along the horizon, together with the line of pylons and the reflections in the river.

Equipment

Nothing fancy....an entry level Nikon D3200, Sigma wide angle lens: 10.0-20.0 mm f/4.0-5.6, tripod and a cable shutter release cord.

Inspiration

I've previously taken a few photos along the River Trent, which flows straight through the middle of my home town, Nottingham, and wanted to shoot a sunrise in a new location. So I checked out Goggle Maps for bends in the river that would give me a decent easterly facing aspect, but also with reasonable road and foot access. I was actually on my way to another location further along the river, to catch the sunrise, but was struck by the beauty of this scene, so just had to stop en-route.

Editing

I shoot in RAW and do all of my processing in Camera Raw, rather than in-camera or 'full' Photoshop. So that included: lights/darks/shadows & lights, a bit of clarity & a fair bit of vibrance.I then undertook lens corrections: chromatic abberation etc, some sharpening with a little noise reduction. Top & bottom I added a graduated filter (lower exposure & bit of blue - lower temperature). I used the paint tool to enhance the orange along the horizon (higher exposure,higher temperature - yellow, high saturation, low density, high feather)

In my camera bag

Nikon D3200 camera, 3 x lenses: Std Nikkor kit 18-55mm, Sigma wide angle: 10.0-20.0 mm f/4.0-5.6, Nikkor 70-300mm zoom and sometimes my Nikkor 50mm prime. All lenses (apart from the 18-55) were 2nd-hand off EBay. I carry everything in a std rucksack, but have in that: a smaller camera bag that I can sting round my neck for easy/quick access. This has in it: (as well as camera & one of the lenses), spare battery, cable shutter release cord, spare Memory Card, lens cloth. Another small camera bag (for zoom lens) - that has another couple of batteries in it. I've also got a small pouch containing ND filters & Polarising filters for each lens. Separately, for sunrise shoots, I will take a tripod.

Feedback

Evening before a sunrise shoot I will check the weather forecast, but they are not always right. Generally I prefer some cloud, rather than no cloud, because it makes the sky more interesting. So it's a bit of 'pot luck' really - sometimes you will be a winner & sometimes not. I try to get to the planned location an hour before sunrise, especially for this type of shot, if you want to capture the pre-sunrise blues, pinks & purples. I get all of my kit ready the evening before, make sure the car has fuel and get all of my clothes ready as well...so that I can just get up & go, without any distractions or diversions. Set up Google coordinates the night before and open on my phone before leaving home. I set my tripod & camera up before leaving the car to save dropping/losing anything 'in the field'. As with this shot, sometimes you have to 'go with the flow' and alter your plans if you see a decent looking shot en-route. Good luck!

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chrispenfold

Pylon Dawn

A beautiful pre-sunrise scene down at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, UK in early September.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow chrispenfold

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