I took this photograph last May at 5:42 a.m. in Montreal, at Plage de l’Est.
Montreal is a big city. However, I found many places free of visual distractions that are ideal for capturing sunrises and sunsets. I should call this location “My Sunrise Paradise” because I can capture sunrises there all year long!
Before leaving home, I checked the Photographer’s Ephemeris app to confirm that the location was suitable for capturing the sunrise, which would occur at 5:11 a.m. The weather forecast was good. This spot is a 17-minute drive from home.
At the location, I set up my tripod and camera with my gorgeous Leica DG lens, which produces beautiful star effects when set to a very small aperture (f/22). I set my camera to bracket three shots with a 2-stop increment between each exposure to capture the scene’s huge dynamic range. In post-processing, I would create an HDR image.
When the sun rose above the distant horizon, I composed the image using a 16mm focal length to include the vegetation and the shoreline on the left side. By doing so, the sun and its twin were positioned almost on the right third of the scene. The shoreline inclusion and the star-effect line create an interesting sense of depth.
At 5:42 a.m., when the sun and its twin were clearly visible, I used my cable release to trigger the shutter.
Once again, planning and gear familiarity paid off!
