Like every year, I went to the Spreewald in eastern Germany to visit my family. The Spreewald is a very picturesque region; it is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. I always bring back a lot of interesting photos from there. This time, I went to the meadows by the Spree River.

I went there to photograph the sunrise. I left home when it was still dark. I put on a headlamp and walked for about 30 minutes along the river. It was very foggy when I was still walking in the dark; I couldn't see anything further than a few meters. I had excellent conditions. When the sun started to rise, the fog cleared up a bit, but it was still thick enough to create a great atmosphere. The sky was slightly overcast, so the sun was very visible.

What I managed to photograph was completely unplanned. As a landscape photographer, I always do some reconnaissance beforehand, and I know more or less what to expect and what conditions I will find. Not everything can be predicted, and this is one of those situations.

I couldn't believe how lucky I was. The sun was positioned precisely over one of the lonely trees in the meadow. Thanks to the mist hanging over the fields and the overcast sky, I managed to create a very mystical and surreal image.

Once again, the trip to the Spreewald turned out to be very creative and exciting.

After returning home, I processed the image in Lightroom. I made some basic adjustments and removed some noise.