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Leesylvania State Park and the Potomac River, seldom a bad sunrise here.

Leesylvania State Park and the Potomac River, seldom a bad sunrise here.
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cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark II

settings Aperture f/10 ISO 100 Shutter 276/1 Focal Length 17/1 

upload_dateApr, 2017

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4121

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Awards

Contest Finalist in A View To Relax Photo Contest
Honorable Mention in The Clouds And The Sunlight Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Clouds And The Sunlight Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Moving Clouds Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Fallen Trees Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Moving Clouds Photo Contest 2017
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Peer Award
Lightpro300 volkmer JeremyNoble2020 Henklet dj8065 Confalonieri kattoolavi68 +847
Absolute Masterpiece
nagerding markalvintablac sagarimam Segalphotography lucapiraino Gkeating1 BADphotography +63
Superb Composition
isaactonio ladybjharms DStoyanoff DanaCarruthers trishaannsnyder Dclgreen jessicalee_2947 +55
Top Choice
LolaKay92 Jarphoto benbarkman tylersandoval LinStearns jkdecola Totskie +35
Outstanding Creativity
larasustituido richardwitting Craig-Sheffield davidferrerijimnez joanamarieleonaleboon denisepanke DorotheaBoonstra +23
Magnificent Capture
Loucas clivetshuma Danori evagenin domjdel RickL michellebarnes +14
Superior Skill
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Genius
jstgoxo MEDOM

Emotions

Impressed
trevorevans_0954 Ovettus

Top Ranks

A View To Relax Photo ContestTop 20 rank
A View To Relax Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Enchanting Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Enchanting Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Earth Day Every Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspiring Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Clouds And The Sunlight Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Clouds And The Sunlight Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Stillness Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Moving Clouds Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Moving Clouds Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
The Moving Clouds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
The Moving Clouds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Moving Clouds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fallen Trees Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Fallen Trees Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Moving Clouds Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Moving Clouds Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
The Blue Hour Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Blue Hour Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Monthly Pro Vol 32 Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 32 Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 21Top 20 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 21Top 20 rank week 2
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 21Top 10 rank week 1

Categories

10 Comments |
camerongreene_2847
 
camerongreene_2847 April 13, 2017
stunning!
joybello PRO+
 
joybello April 13, 2017
Gorgeous!
Vishakha
 
Vishakha September 28, 2017
awesome!
megilchrist
 
megilchrist January 12, 2018
Beautiful photo
jacovanrensburg
 
jacovanrensburg January 13, 2018
Absolutely stunning photo
LowKal
 
LowKal January 13, 2018
beautiful ! love the light on the sand
cindyrodkin
 
cindyrodkin June 30, 2018
Love the light and movement on the sea .. gorgeous!
Kseei
 
Kseei December 09, 2018
Beautiful long exposure
lynettehurley
 
lynettehurley March 23, 2019
Gorgeous photo. Was this captured at Shorncliffe, Brisbane by any chance?
RickL PRO+
 
RickL March 23, 2019
Exceptional

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Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken at the Leesylvania State Park near Woodbridge, Virginia.

Time

Early morning during blue hour, just before the sun started to climb towards the horizon.

Lighting

As a dawn patroller, I am always on the lookout for the right conditions. This day was no exception, as there were enough clouds to soften the light, and for the sunlight to reflect off of the clouds. There was an arc lamp behind me, which I didn't care too much for, but it did add some nice shadow effects to the foreground.

Equipment

This was taken with a Canon 5DMKII mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. the lens was a Canon EF 17-40 f/4L fitted with a SinghRay DB 4 stop RGND and a Lee Big Stopper. Everything triggered with a Satechi wireless trigger.

Inspiration

This pier at Leesylvania is always picturesque at dawn. Its geometry allows the sun to rise on all sides of the pagoda, depending on the season. There really is no wrong angle to shoot this pier. the other nice thing about this location is that there is always some flotsam on the beach to add some foreground interest. Best time to go is after a storm, as the Potomac carries the flotsam down from Viriginia and Washington DC. I walked the beach on both sides of the pier looking for "the angle". As I watched the horizon, and the cloud movement, I felt that this was the best angle to create the sense of movement towards the viewer.

Editing

This was a RAW capture, so I tweaked it up a bit in Lightroom. I reduced the barrel distortion of the 17mm capture and color corrected for the arc lamp that was behind me. I also upped the saturation to enhance the morning colors on the horizon, then erased the foreground on that layer to make the sand as natural as possible before adding a warming layer.

In my camera bag

Normally the following; Canon 5DMKII, Canon 7D and occasionally a Life Pixel modified T1i. Canon 17-40 f/4L or 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f/2.8L ISII, Canon 50mm f/1.4 Lee Filter system, Lee GND filters, SinghRay RGND Satechi wireless triggers Wrigleys Cobalt gum. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what I want to shoot. On this day, it was just the MKII with the 17-40 f/4L and the 7D with a EF400 f/5.6L, plus my trusty filters.

Feedback

Timing is everything. And if your timing is off, then some creative thinking and blending can do the trick. However, I would suggest the timing first. Studying the weather forecast is a must, plus a little luck. I planned this shoot based on a mostly cloudy forecast that turned out just as I wanted. Just get on location as early as possible, preferably an hour before sunrise. This will give you plenty of time to walk around and scout the scenery. Also, take note of the wind direction. If you are looking to capture cloud movements, having an idea of which direction you want that movement conveyed will guide your composition. Good weather or not, when shooting into the sun, a gradient ND filter is a must. A reverse gradient filter is even better. SinghRay, IMHO, makes the best. A reverse gradient has the darkest band in the middle of the filter, and then gradually lightens towards the top. The area below the band is clear, allowing for a well exposed foreground. Not an under-exposed silhouette. This allows you to shoot into the sun with much more control and a well balanced image. A tripod is also a must, with a remote trigger. If you don't have a remote trigger, then a delayed shutter can also work.

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