First Light of Dawn

Perhaps my favorite time of day, when the landscape starts to hint at a

rising sun. Dark images like this are often not favorably received in my

experience, but many remain among my favorites. Your comments and

suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks.

Stephen,  I like the image for the light and texture on the rock face at right.  It does show first light.  I find myself looking for more detail/ highlights either in the rocks between the boulders or in the darker one at left too.  I say this without wanting to misunderstand your point of first light.  I think it would be difficult to make an accurate print of this image.  All this said, I do like the image.  Larry

Thanks, Larry.  The rocks on the left have some detail, but it is very subtle.  More subtle than would be seen by the eye.  I need to think about that.  I don't know if I can get enough light on the left and still have the right portion look like very early light; it seems to me they have to remain proportional.  This amount of dark might have been fine back in the age of film, but we expect more (and can get more) with digital....at least that's true for me.

I agree with you about darker images and their acceptance and I also agree that this is one fine image. My personal opinion is that it doesn't need to be changed in any way. When you processed it, I'm sure you had a "feeling" that you were trying to convey, "first light", and I think you have conveyed it very well. My attention is drawn toward the lighter area with shadow details intact and not in anyway distracting.

I love the quite feeling this beautiful photo gives. It's very soothing and nice to look at. You managed to give the feeling of the first fresh morning light. 6!!

Leo and Avital, thanks for visiting.  I'll probably experiment a bit with this one, but I really need to print it to see how it looks.