4 AM at Claytor Lake State Park

docwalker

4 AM at Claytor Lake State Park in Virginia. 30 Sec exposure.



Exif

I was there to help out at a bass tournament. While waiting for the gang to arrive, I decided to play. I like the looks of this as it has a etheral feel to it.

It was really dark out. The only light was from the moon over my right shoulder and a street light that was about 200 yards from the trees. You could barely make out the outline from that distance.

Sugarloafur

Nice shot! The water was very calm also, makes for a very cool effect. Though, I couldn't see myself getting up at 4AM, I'm glad that you did.

sayntbrigid

Looks like a world made of gold, really beautifull

adrian_k

yeah, that's nice.

As it was a clear night, I'd have like to see some more sky & stars - don't hear that too often do we?
Did you crop some off the top that you can put back in?

docwalker wrote:

4 AM at Claytor Lake State Park in Virginia. 30 Sec exposure.

It was really dark out. The only light was from the moon over my right shoulder and a street light that was about 200 yards from the trees. You could barely make out the outline from that distance.

docwalker

Actually it was not as clear as you think. The fog was starting to blow off of the river and the lake and that was hazing out the sky. You could see some stars but they were not that bright.

Here is a shot that was taken down the hill to the right of the first shot and facing 90 degrees to the right when the sun came up. You can see the clouds in this one.



I cropped the forground of the fist photo and not the sky. You can see it here in this one. I was playing with the color settings to see if I could get the green of the tree leaves back. It also brings out the noise in the sky. You can see a few stars peaking through the haze.

chandi

I like what processing you've done with the pic. The water is so silky and inviting

docwalker

chandi wrote:

I like what processing you've done with the pic. The water is so silky and inviting

Are you refering to the first pic (gold) or the edited one (green)?

The first pic is not edited other than the crop. The water effect was due to the 30 second exposure. The water had wind ripples and the reflections from the multiple ripples blended. It is a very cool effect. I played with the camera settings quite a bit to get the right settings. I will definitely be trying this again. I just need to catch up on my sleep before getting up at 3 AM again. :snore

If you are referring to the sunrise, it is also straight from the camera. I took several shots and used the EV settings on the camera to adjust.

I wish that I had more time to play with processing. I have CS2 and a tablet but they get very little use. What little bit of editing I do usually is done in Picassa. Go figure.

Charbu

I really like the editing effects of the gold shot. To see white stars in the background would only detract from the overall shot. My eye is drawn to the water. I don't even notice the sky.

docwalker

Charbu,

Keep in mind that it was not "edited". The green one was.

I probably could do a lot more with it if I ran it through photoshop.

I should mention that I am very flattered that people think that it was edited. I guess that could mean that I am doing things right. Or its so bad that it looks edited :-)

ultravox

Edited or not the last one is a beauty.