Donner Lake Sunrise

kdog · April 20, 2009

I went skiing with the family last week at Tahoe, and managed to sneak out early one morning to shoot the sunrise above Donner Lake at a location I'd scoped out a couple of days prior. As I hurried by the lake in the morning twilight, I noticed the reflections on the calm water and slammed on my brakes. I hadn't counted on that.
1

2

3

4 - This is the shot I originally had in mind, and fortunately got there in time.

5 - First light, looking south

6 - On the way back to the cabin, I saw stars.

7 - And finally a stormy sunset taken a couple of days prior, which seemed to fit here.

Comments are always welcome, and thanks for looking. :thumb
-joel

CWSkopec · April 20, 2009

Very nice series, Joel!!

I think I like 3 the best, but it's hard to figure out a favorite, they're all so good!

ront · April 20, 2009

All are very nice, but 3 & $ are tops for me. I love them both. The detail in #4 is incredible. Very nicely done!!

Ron

Awais Yaqub · April 20, 2009

Beautiful set of photos Stars are really cool

hawkeye978 · April 20, 2009

Nice set all around. I particularly like #4 and 5. Is #4 a blended exposure or HDR? It has some great dynamic range.

kdog · April 21, 2009

CWSkopec wrote:

Very nice series, Joel!!

I think I like 3 the best, but it's hard to figure out a favorite, they're all so good!

Chris, wow, that's quite a compliment. Thanks!

Just saw the news about your book. Congrats!!

-joel

kdog · April 21, 2009

ront wrote:

All are very nice, but 3 & $ are tops for me. I love them both. The detail in #4 is incredible. Very nicely done!!

Ron

Thanks a lot, Ron. Glad you like 'em.

Cheers,
-joel

kdog · April 21, 2009

Awais Yaqub wrote:

Beautiful set of photos Stars are really cool

Thanks Awais! I really appreciate your comments.

-joel

amg2833 · April 21, 2009

I have trouble choosing between three and four. They're both great. I think a lean towards four, but not by much.

Awesome shots.

kdog · April 21, 2009

hawkeye978 wrote:

Nice set all around. I particularly like #4 and 5. Is #4 a blended exposure or HDR? It has some great dynamic range.

Thanks, Tom. Yes, #4 is an HDR with a rather large dynamic range. 5 shots at 2-stop increments. :wow Your moniker "Hawkeye" seems to suite you quite well.

Cheers,
-joel

Tango · April 21, 2009

brakes slamming on... worth it

CWSkopec · April 21, 2009

kdog wrote:

Chris, wow, that's quite a compliment. Thanks!

Just saw the news about your book. Congrats!!

-joel

Thanks Joel!! We're pretty excited that it's done, now we're just hoping to sell several trillion copies!!

ian408 · April 21, 2009

I like the perspective of the shot from above the bridge. If I can offer a suggestion, it would be to process the image twice. One for highlights and the other for shadow--then use masks to make your final image.

kdog · April 21, 2009

amg2833 wrote:

I have trouble choosing between three and four. They're both great. I think a lean towards four, but not by much.

Awesome shots.

Thanks very much for the comments, Anthony. Glad you liked the shots.

-joel

kdog · April 21, 2009

ian408 wrote:

I like the perspective of the shot from above the bridge. If I can offer a suggestion, it would be to process the image twice. One for highlights and the other for shadow--then use masks to make your final image.

Ian, thanks for the comment. I'm just now learning how to blend images in layers, so your comment is very timely. However, could you please elaborate on what you feel needs to be improved? For example, one can see into the lesser-lighted areas now. Are you thinking I should bring up the lighting in those areas (the bridge, etc)? This is a 5-shot HDR so the dynamic range is pretty huge. I'm really curious how to improve it, so your guidance here would be very helpful.

Cheers,
-joel

shniks · April 21, 2009

Joel- #4 and #7 are AWESOME....

LOVE LOVE LOVE #7...

Cheers,

kdog · April 21, 2009

AaronNelson wrote:

brakes slamming on... worth it

Thank you sir! One never knows what they'll stumble across on the way to a shoot, eh?

Cheers,
-joel

kdog · April 22, 2009

shniks wrote:

Joel- #4 and #7 are AWESOME....

LOVE LOVE LOVE #7...

Cheers,

Thanks Nikhil! That light on #7 was disappearing fast as I set up. Naturally I missed the best of it. The east shore of the lake is public property, but the Donner Home Owner Association has the access fenced off so you can't get to it. You have to hike 200 yards or so through a swamp to get to it from a public parking area down the road. Really annoying. :bluduh

Anyway, thanks again for checking in.

-joel

torags · April 23, 2009

#4 does it for me....

kdog · April 26, 2009

torags wrote:

#4 does it for me....

Thanks, Torags.

dlplumer · April 26, 2009

#3 and #4 for me Joel, but the whole set is great. Love your HDR work.

cj99si · April 27, 2009

Joel,

I really like that last one! Good stuff.