P#34: Capturing A Tuscan Sunrise
Terry Donnelly discusses exactly how he captured the divine beauty of this Tuscan sunrise
Did Terry Donnelly plan this Tuscan sunrise photograph down to the last detail? Absolutely not. In fact, when he went out to shoot this location he had no idea where the sun would come up. As luck would have it, the placement was perfect and the resulting shot was nothing short of miraculous.
The Right Light
Terry Donnelly: This photograph is of a Tuscan sunrise. Mary and I found this farmhouse scene at the end of one of our trips. When we went back to that area we got up before dawn on the first morning and went out with a friend of ours who is an avid birder. He was going to bird and we were going to photograph this valley.
We hadn't had a chance to really scout the location enough to know where the sunrise was going to come up, so we were totally surprised to have it come up just where it was, right on the horizon just next to this farmhouse. It's a beautiful scene. (click the image for a larger version)
This is a perfect example of what a really soft light is. It's also a perfect example of how light can have color. You have all the blue colors of the mist down in the valley and that beautiful pink across the sky. It's just really a beautiful scene.
Audri Lanford: You know, it's interesting when I first looked at this picture I kept thinking, "Oh no, I can't look at the sun," because you know you can't look at the sun, but it's so gorgeous and it's so real that it almost feels like you can't even look at the sun directly because it could hurt your eyes.
Terry Donnelly: This was taken in spring. There was a lot of moisture in the air, and you can see it settling into the valley between the hills so it filtered the sun enough that it was just this orange ball that came up over the horizon.
In Closing
Sometimes you don't know when the perfect picture opportunity is going to arise. The first part is finding the perfect scene. The second part is getting the right light. When you do find an wonderful scene to photograph, you can only hope that the lighting will be as perfect as it was in Terry Donnelly's photograph of this Tuscan sunrise.
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