Living in the Northeast of Scotland with its long days and very early dawn, I mostly do dawn shoots away from home. On this occassion my son and his family had rented a cottage by lake Salajarvi, near Nastola, Finland. I stayed with them for three beautiful days when we had crisp white snow and the lake was frozen over. It was no great challenge to get up early enough to catch the dawn.

I had travelled with just a wideangle lens, so I borrowed this Tamron lens from my son. On the first day I had spotted this small island with multiple pine trees and a small cabin. I took multiple shots of it from different points on the lake, taking advantage of the deep ice on the lake that supported my weight and the fresh snow that had fallen each night. The rays from the rising sun slanted across the snowy expanses and just lit up the snow on the branches of foreground trees and lighting the trees in the background. It was a truly beautiful morning.