I took this photograph on July 19th at 5:37 a.m. in Montreal, at Parc du Bout-de-l’Île.
Montreal is a big city. However, I found many places free of visual distractions that are ideal for capturing sunrises and sunsets.
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 5:22 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.
Here is the lucky part! According to the Photographer’s Ephemeris app, I was sure that the sun would rise over the distant island but I was able to capture this beautiful starburst between the trees on the island, squeezed under the massive clouds. It was a beautiful, lucky shot.
Planning and gear familiarity are fundamental photographic elements, but luck helps!
