DARK SUNRISE

Beach #5 Dark Sunrise, Havelock Island, India

It was still quite dark when the sun made its first appearance.  I love the low tide at Beach #5 and I can't wait to see it again someday.  See my previous posts from Beach #5 here and here.

Being on the beach in January was a nice treat for a Nebraskan who doesn't get to see many beaches.  I photographed two sunsets and two sunrises while in the Andaman Islands.  After each shoot I looked through the shots on my camera and was always disappointed.  I may have gotten one or two good shots I thought, but nothing great, and certainly nothing close to the potential I saw with each sunset and sunrise.  My biggest hindrance was that I was always in a rush and didn't have time to look around and compose the perfect photo.  This problem was compounded by the fact that I don't have much practice with beach photography.  I tried the best I could in a hurry and with my limited experience.  But I learned some things in those four short shoots and I'm still learning more as I process the photos and continue to study other photographer's seascapes to see where I went wrong and what I did right.  In the end, the shots were better than my first impression from the back of the camera.

Photo taken Jan 9, 2012

VICTORIAN SUNRISE - SINGLE EXPOSURE

Victoria Memorial Sunrise, Kolkata India

I have shared a few HDR photos of Victoria Memorial in the past (see previous two posts), but this is the first single exposure I have shared.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  DO YOU PREFER THE HDR OR SINGLE EXPOSURE?

I'm amazed at how quickly my processing techniques evolve.  I always think my most newly processed photos look the best, and any time I re-process something I usually like the new version better than the old.  In some ways processing is similar to writing, and the first version you make is just a first draft, which gets better and better with each revision.

Can you spot the sun in this sunrise?

Photo taken Jan 12, 2012

ON THE TRAIL FOR SUNRISE

On the Trail for Sunrise, Gretna NE

We returned from India on the evening of January 16th, and by 7PM I was fast asleep.  But I awoke at 5:30AM the next morning and could not go back to sleep.  So I made myself some steak and eggs from a leftover steak from the dinner I slept through the night before.  Then I woke up dad around 6:30, picked up my boy Big Red, and headed to Gretna to make more photos of the Holy Family Shrine.  Since it was so early in the morning I let Big Red run with me, but don't tell anyone.

For more information on the Holy Family Shrine see my older post here.

The sunrise was pretty lame, the sun peaked out for about five minutes before being engulfed in clouds.  Also lame: ISO 640!  I made an amateur mistake and forgot to reduce my ISO after my previous shoot, which was indoors in very low light.  Whoops!  As a result, this photo required more noise reduction than I normally like.  This is a six exposure HDR.

Photo taken Jan 17, 2012

SUNRISE AT BEACH #5

Symphony Palms Sunrise, Havelock Island, India

I was very lucky to wake up early and witness a stunning sunrise during the low tide at Beach #5, also known as Govind Nagar Beach.  It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I can remember seeing.  I highly recommend the Symphony Palms resort which is as close to the beach as you can get without a tent.  There is a constant cool breeze blowing through shady palms; a nice retreat from the 80 degree temps and hot sun.  In addition, the restaurant at Symphony Palms is excellent, and serves the coldest beer in the Andamans.

Beach #5 offers stunning blue and green colors due to the shallow water (see previous posts).  During high tide it is only about five feet deep for the first 100 meters or so, most of which is exposed at low tide. The low tide reveals some excellent rock formations and sand patterns, and creates some nice reflection pools for photographing the sunrise.

I asked several locals in Port Blair where they had seen the most beautiful scenery in the Andamans, and without fail, every single person said Havelock Island.  If you're into beaches, I can't imagine any more beautiful than those on Havelock.

This photo is a single exposure taken with a circular polarizer.  On a full frame body such as my 5D a circular polarizer can create extreme light falloff in the corners of the frame, so much so that the very tips of the corners are totally black at wide focal lengths (of course this depends on your camera, focal length and the thickness of your polarizer and other filters).  I added some vignette to help it blend in without having to crop too much.

The staff at Symphony Palms recommends booking your room three months in advance in order secure a cottage close to the beach, although they are all within a three minute walk of the beach.  You can visit the Symphony Palms website here:
http://symphonypalmshavelock.com/site/the-resort.html

Photo taken Jan 9, 2012