Category Archives: sunrise

Barge at Sunrise

Posted by Mike on

Some more images from my early morning walk on Sunday. I usually find something interesting when I walk the trails along the barge canal. This barge and tug were docked just beyond a gate into an access area for Utica, NY. I have noticed quite a lot of activity the past few weeks along the canal. I think there is an effort to dredge our section of the canal and keep it accessible.

Both of these images are three exposure brackets combined using Photomatix. I generally start with a simple tone mapped default and tweak the settings to achieve the image I want. I tend to keep the color saturation to a minimum and hopefully create a more realistic, natural image rather than an ‘over the top’ HDR image. Finally adjustments to the exposure and a slight gradient added in Lightroom.

Barge at Sunrise Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/3, 1.3, 5s bracket), 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Barge at Sunrise
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/3, 1.3, 5s bracket), 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Tug and Barge Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 15s bracket), 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Tug and Barge
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 15s bracket), 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Pre-Sunrise over the Thruway

Posted by Mike on

My plans changed this morning when I received a text from an operator at work and I decided it was easier to drive in to help him. I ended up staying about an hour getting some parts in place to make tomorrow a little easier. As I left work around 6:30am the sun was just making its presence known in the sky. I decided it would be a good time to capture the image I have been wanting from the pedestrian walkway over the NY State thruway.

I had the lens as close as possible to the chain link fence but I just couldn’t keep it out of the image. I suppose if I didn’t have the wide angle lens on the camera it would have been easier to not include the fence. The colors in the sky and the light trails from the cars is what I really wanted anyway. Mission accomplished…

Pre-Sunrise over the ThruwayNikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 15s, 70mm, f/22, ISO 100

Pre-Sunrise over the Thruway
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 15s, 70mm, f/22, ISO 100

Good Start, So-So Finish…

Posted by Mike on

The day after Thanksgiving found me having to get out and moving early. Not to shop but to work off all the food I ate the day before. Luckily, it was a beautiful morning and unusually warm. We had traveled down to my mother-in-law’s house which is next to the heifer barn on the family farm. I went for a walk out into the fields and was greeted with an early color show prior to the official sunrise of the day.

Good Start, So-So Finish
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 42s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100


My plan for the day was to leave early on the trip back home (I have to work on Saturday for a few hours) and stop at a few waterfalls south of Syracuse. There is a great website New York Waterfalls and Nature that Scott Thomas at Views Infinitum had clued me into. I had already mapped out a plan and the cloud cover that was building suited me just fine since I didn’t want a bright sunny day.

I headed out a little after noon planning on making it to the first location around 2pm. My enthusiasm started to wane as I approached Cortland and a steady rain settled in for the remainder of my trip. I drove by both stops making a promise to myself to return at the first opportunity.

At least the day started off right…