It was an unseasonably mild, snow-less and cloudy afternoon in Red Wing atop Sorin’s Bluff in Memorial Park at the lookout. I would not have typically thought about loading up the photo gear to venture out in these less-than-optimal conditions; however, everything was at the ready and loaded from this morning when sunrise wasn’t visible at all – not even a glimmer. I really wasn’t anticipating seeing any moving clouds in the frames and was thinking of focusing more on moving traffic on the city streets. I was pleasantly surprised at what I was able to glean from the sky. Lightroom recently added a very handy feature nestled in between Clarity and Saturation – Dehaze.
Original
Graduated Filter with Dehaze. FYI – a little goes a long way.
Final edited first frame
This definitely provided some definition in the clouds making the scene more interesting. Here is the completed time-lapse video combining all three points of view that I captured. I may have to give this vantage point a whirl after dark. The light trails from the head/tail lights produce a wonderful light show.
December 5th, 2015 – 37 degrees @ 7:00 a.m. (sunrise @ 7:30 a.m.). It would go on to reach 49 degrees as they day progressed; sure beats 20 below. I setup in a familiar place; a favorite site any time of the year for a sunrise. I employed a 3-camera setup this morning as illustrated in the first image below. I moved camera 3 to three more different vantage points. I used footage from only two of four positions that camera 3 occupied. It is challenging enough to get the exposure correct on one camera as it gets lighter out; 3 different cameras had me running a bit. The more I dabble with time-lapse the deeper its hooks get into me. It is challenging.
From L to R – Camera 3, 2 & 1
Camera 3 moved for wave view
Here are a few single-frame shots from the time-lapse sequences.
Camera #1 View
Camera #2 View
Camera #2 View
Camera #3 View
Camera #3 moved from tree to waves – quick snap in-between
Camera #3 View
You can view more of my time-lapse projects via my blog or my youtube channel.
The end product of this time-lapse shoot is below. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I did creating it.
32 degrees on a January morning is always welcomed to me. It is also an invitation to get out and shoot a sunrise. Winter vs. Summer sunrises are a toss-up for me. One plus to Winter sunrises is they happen later. I am not opposed to getting up early, but 6 a.m. is always seems easier than 4 a.m.
Cyndie and I initially planned on shooting at a favorite spot in Lake City, MN – a quick 20 minute drive from where we live in Red Wing, MN. We arrived at the point (off of Chestnut St) and just down from Ohuta Park. We made good time and had plenty of time to spare. Giving ourselves plenty of time was a good plan as there were minimal ice heaves present off the point. There certainly were not enough to fill in the foreground of a photo.
Like any plan, it is good to have a backup. We back-tracked to the boat landing in Old Frontenac on Lake St. I had stopped there on MLK day while driving around Lake Pepin after shooting the sunrise. I noticed some ice fishing houses on the lake; I thought they where closer to the landing. I was envisioning them as a nice foreground for the sunrise shoot. Upon arrival the parking lot was already full and folks where lining up on the ice to park. The ice fishing houses where out further from shore; not in an ideal position unfortunately.
MLK Day 2015 Sunrise
If you were thoughtful enough to have a back up plan, chances are you have yet another idea if the first and second option doesn’t pan out. We still had plenty of time and decided to head back to Red Wing and then across the river into Wisconsin and to a favorite sunrise spot in Bay City. This place works well any time of the year; with its close proximity to Red Wing, it is easy to reach if in a hurry. The springs along the shore leave open water throughout the winter. The open water affords local Mallards a quiet resting place as well as enable beautiful cloud reflections.
I shot the sunrise in three different sequences. I have not shot any time lapse in a while, but felt inclined to do so because he the clouds were pretty epic this morning with nice gradual movement. I wish I would have set up different cameras in the three locations and captured longer amount of time.
First sunrise sequence time lapse
Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.
Second sunrise sequence time lapse
Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.
Third sunrise sequence time lapse
Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.
Here are some other shots from the morning.
And finally, some shots from the iPhone. You need another camera to keep yourself occupied when shooting time lapse – you have some time on your hands.
