Virginia Sunrise

[Dennis Bishop]

This was taken from the fourth floor balcony of a condominium in Hampton, Virginia, in 2002. If the metadata are right, the time was about 5:40 am, but getting up that early was worth it. Albeit a bit exaggerated, now, all the colors you see were in the original photo. Immediately beyond the horizon is Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a bit further east.

Nikon D1, ISO 200, f/8, 1/45 sec, zoom lens at 17mm

post-processing

• The photo was taken as a single jpeg. I knew nothing about RAW nor HDR back then. The Exposure slider in Adobe Camera Raw was used to produce three additional jpegs, one each at -2, -1, and +1 EV. These were processed in Photomatix to achieve a good histogram.
• Adobe Camera Raw (on the tif from Photomatix) -- Clarity, Saturation, and Luminance.
• In the bottom left corner was a white balcony railing and part of a roof. These were covered over by flipping a duplicate layer horizontally and masking.
• Topaz Simplify -- Watercolor II, masked off the boats
• Nik Viveza -- subdue the sun
• Red Giant Knoll Light Factory -- add additional sun rays
• Curves -- lighten the foreground vegetation
• Photo Filter adjustment layer -- violet, masked from the lower part of the sky and the foreground vegetation (This made some difference in color but not as much as you might think.)
• Photo Filter adjustment layer -- warming #81, masked to the lower part of the sky
• Fractalius -- B&W preset based on the old Sketch preset, Multiply blend mode, masked off where the sun would lighten the scene
• nonuniform gradient vignette

[Jay Sheinfield]

Dennis, this is drop dead gorgeous! The shapes of the clouds and seashore seem to compliment each other. The feeling of early light is wonderful. The boat docks provide yet another layer of interest. Marvelously composed. Maybe lighten up on some of the squigglys in foreground water and in the orange layer...........the purples, the purples! The depth is great............this may be my new favorites or yours!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, this is beautiful! The colors, especially the purples in the water, are perfect. It looks magical and could be my new favorite also

[denise ippolito]

Dennis, I think the deep color tones, lighting and your special touches make this extra special!!

[Judy Howle]

I really like the composition and the strong colors. Nice filter work too!

[Paul Lagasi]

I can't add much, its all been said, a well produced image....

[Steve Adkins]

Hi Dennis,
I find myself wanting to shield my eyes from the sun! This is so well done. Love your interpretation of this beautiful time of day. Thanks for sharing your processing steps.

[Hazel Grant]

Ditto above. At first I thought I'd crop some of the heavy clouds out but then, studying it, I thought, no, they give dimension and a reason why the brilliant yellow light is only a thin line rather than lighting up the whole sky. Excellent job

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . At first I thought I'd crop some of the heavy clouds out but then, studying it, I thought, no, they give dimension and a reason why the brilliant yellow light is only a thin line rather than lighting up the whole sky. . . .

Thank you for your comments, Hazel. The layout of this one -- especially the vertical part of it -- was a real struggle. I definitely didn't want the orange/yellow part so near the center but thought that having it there worked out the best. I ended up cropping a little more from the top than the bottom.

[Anita Bower]

I'm late to the discussion, but want to add my compliments to this gorgeous image. The colors blow me away. I love the layers of color and how the create bands of light. Excellent processing.

[Andrew McLachlan]

This one turned out beautiful Dennis!