A cloudless dawn over the Cambrian Mountains

This week I am showing 3 photos recently taken of the dawn from our smallholding in Mid-Wales. These were taken at ground level from our 'front' door, overlooking out 'front' garden. I put 'front' in quotes because, due to the layout of the property and entrance gates, the main entrance is in fact the back!

I was unsure how these photographs would turn out as the dawn, although a spectacular red to the eye, did not have any clouds to add interest - I thought the sky might turn out bland and featureless. However, due to the graduation in brightness, the sky darkens in arcs as you move away from the sun. These turned out far better than I expected.

The lighter area to the lower right is the ornamental pond reflecting the light of the sky. The pattern is due to the small picket fence surrounding the pond.

Although the 3 images are similar, there are slight differences between each. The first photo (above) shows the view with the garden very dark. This picture is as it came 'out of the camera' - I have not made any adjustments to it.

The second photograph below shows a little more detail in the garden. This has been lightened just a little - too much and it look artificial.



The third image shows slightly less sky and more garden. Again, the garden has been lightened ever so slightly - you can just make out some detail.



The full range of dawn and dusk photos can be seen in the miscellaneous gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS 350D
Lens: EFS 17-85mm IS
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: from 1/5 to 1/20 @ F4
White balance: Daylight
Support: Hand held - I did not have time to fetch the tripod!


p.s. An apology for the picture of the week last week. I prepared everything, but never loaded the final files to the website. Then, with a very busy week, I didn't double check like I normally do. Oops!