Volcanic Sunrise

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 2, 2013411 views5 comments

Last week I posted a night shot of Halema'uma'u Crater in Hawaii and the feedback was it was just too dark so here's one the next morning right before sunrise. The challenge is getting enough light on the crater floor to show some detail without blowing out the glow from the lava lake because the contrast is so high. I tried an HDR shot and it just doesn't look right at all. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 24-70 @ 24mm
F8, 30 sec
ISO 400

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on February 2, 2013 at 2:46 PM

Very nice one, Joe. The TOD on this scene works very well IMO. This capture in the sunrise light has allowed some well lit remaining stars in the BG sky too. The clouds along with the volcanic steam or hot air trail adds to this one very nicely.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 2, 2013 at 3:12 PM

It works for me, Joe--i like the stars here, they add to the scene for sure. I'm thinking you could probably get away with ISO 800--and probably the faster you can grab this the better, but hard to say without seeing it. Nice balance here though.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 2, 2013 at 9:50 PM

This is really nice. I think you got the light about right here. Almost with for a slightly wider view as the crater seems a bit cramped at the sides.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on February 3, 2013 at 10:28 PM

Thanks for the comments! I toyed with some shorter exposure times but the steam cloud loses that milky texture I like. I think someone could spend days at this spot trying all the different options and lighting conditions available. We had a full moon the entire time we were there which eliminated any Milky Way over the crater shots but maybe next time.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Kualii on February 7, 2013 at 4:28 AM

great shot

Registered on November 24, 2010, 53 Posts, 139 Comments