Category Archives: sunrise

Hospitality House

Posted by Mike on
Hospitality House Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1, 2.5, 5, 10, 15s bracket}, 26mm, f/16, ISO 200

Hospitality House
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1, 2.5, 5, 10, 15s bracket}, 26mm, f/16, ISO 200

Sunrise Snowfield

Posted by Mike on

I missed the colorful sunrise on Saturday (and truth be told, it was just too cold outside) but this morning I bundled up and trudged my way into the field across the road. The colors in the sky were great just before sunrise. I so love living out in the middle of nowhere!

Sunrise Snowfield Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.4s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

Sunrise Snowfield
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.4s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

the best laid plans…

Posted by Mike on

The leaves are changing in the north country. We have some color where I live but farther north the colors are at their peak. I decided to take Friday off and travel north to climb Bald Mountain in the Adirondacks. Bald Mountain is just north of Old Forge and has a great view of the Fulton Chain Lakes. I also checked and the sun would rise right over First Lake in Old Forge so I made sure to get there early to catch the blue hour and then the sunrise.

Well, at least that was the plan. I should have done more homework. Or maybe verify the forecast before I left the house at 5am for the hour drive north. I arrived in Old Forge to see the town shrouded in fog. My sunrise was a washout, but I hoped it would burn off quickly. It didn’t. I waited until 8:30am and hiked up to the top of the mountain with the hope it would dissipate. It didn’t.

I didn’t see clearing skies until I was 20 minutes south of Old Forge on my way home…

Here is my sunrise.

First Lake Sunrise Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1.6s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

First Lake Sunrise
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1.6s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

Dive Patrol Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 2.5s, 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Dive Patrol
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 2.5s, 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Morning Glow

Posted by Mike on

The colors of the sunrise were too good to pass up, so another image from my early morning at Hinkley Reservoir makes it into my stream. This is a 3 exposure bracket HDR image. It was the best way to capture the most light. The sunrise wouldn’t be as interesting if the rocks in the foreground were silhouetted.

Morning Glow Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1/4, 1, 4s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Morning Glow
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1/4, 1, 4s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Reservoir Sunrise

Posted by Mike on

I finally make it to the weekend and the forecast is for rain. I’m sure I’ll still enjoy the time off from work but I was looking forward to a few events this weekend. The Trenton Falls trails are open again this weekend (as well as next) and there is the Trenton Falls Art Festival. Hopefully Sunday will not be a total washout and I can get some exploring in along the trail and at the art festival.

When I awoke the moon was still shining brightly through the windows so I knew the clouds would have to be rolling in if we are going to get the rain predicted. I packed up the camera and headed to Hinkley Reservoir to capture the sunrise. It was a good plan. The clouds hadn’t completely obscured the sky and the pre-dawn light was incredible.

Pointing the camera into the morning light was going to cause the foreground to almost completely black out. This was the perfect scene for some bracketed images. I properly exposed for the sky and water and tried a few images to ensure I was balancing the histogram. Switched the camera into exposure bracketing, selected +/-2 and let the camera do its thing. This gave me three images, one underexposed by 2 stops, one exposed for the sky and one overexposed by 2 stops. This would give me enough detail in both the highlights and shadows to work with.

I used the ‘Merge to 32-bit HDR’ option in the Photomatix plugin for Lightroom to blend all three exposures together, producing an image with a wider dynamic range. A few adjustments to brighten up the shadows and lighten the highlights produced the image below. The clouds were moving fairly quickly but I let the merge process use all the information which smeared the clouds slightly but I like the results.

Although I am only 20 minutes away from the reservoir this was my first trip up and after the beautiful morning I will be making a more trips in the future. There is quite a few locations along the shore to explore…

Reservoir Sunrise Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.5, 2, 8s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Reservoir Sunrise
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.5, 2, 8s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 100