Bellamy Harbor, Rome, NY

As I was driving through Rome on my way to work yesterday morning I felt a constant pull of the rising sun. Officially, sun rise had not occurred but the colors in the Eastern sky were calling me. It didn’t surprise me when the car turned right and I drove to Bellamy Harbor.

It is a favorite destination of mine, especially when there are a few low hanging clouds to catch the changing colors. There is a small parking area on the Western side of the park and an area near the canal gates that lets you see the whole park. I setup the tripod and grab a familiar view.

Once I stop and actually look around I notice the moon and Venus in the morning sky. Well, I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away from me. I try a capture in portrait orientation which allows me to zoom in a little and get the celestial objects in the frame. This highlights the colors in the sky and water but the focus feels too narrow to me. I switch back to a landscape orientation and grab another capture. Although this puts the moon a lot smaller in the frame the scale feels better to me.

The last thought I have is to do a panoramic view of the entire harbor. I’ve done this a number of times from this spot at the harbor. I can’t help myself, I set the camera back to portrait orientation and adjust the tripod so the head stays level while I rotate it. To get the sequence right it is best to switch to manual mode on your camera. Find the mid-point of the dynamic range and adjust your exposure. It takes seven images to capture the whole of the harbor.

I like how the pano will turn out. I can see it already, even before I process everything. There will be a transition from left to right from a darker, almost night image to a colorful sunrise image. The change from night to day in one view. I wasn’t disappointed once I created the panoramic…

Harbor Color
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.6s, 23mm, f/11, ISO 200

Venus and the Moon
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.3s, 19mm, f/11, ISO 200

Harbor Sky
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.3s, 13mm, f/11, ISO 200

Slowly Rises
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.6s, 15mm, f/11, ISO 200