Haleakala Sunrise

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 14, 2013354 views4 comments

On our first trip to Maui this past Christmas we ended up with one morning out of a week with cooperative weather to head up the famous mountain to see the sunrise. Like all accessible and iconic spots, crowds were a problem but the sunrise really was spectacular with almost perfect conditions. I tried a number of HDR shots to try to get the crater floor but decided the ones I liked the best kept the floor in silhouette instead.

This is a two shot blend, one for the sun rising above the lower level cloud base and the other for the sky above.

Canon EOS40D with 24-70 F2.8 @ 45
ISO 200, F16
Shot 1: 1/40 sec, Shot 2: 1/160 sec

Thanks for looking and I greatly appreciate C&C you might have. Cheers!

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on June 15, 2013 at 11:38 AM

Haleakala is an amazing place. How cold was it up there that morning? I like the colors and sunstar, but I'm undecided on the comp. The left hand side feels a bit empty. It just doesn't seem like there is enough going on on the left to create a counterpoint to the sunstar. Perhaps putting the sunstar closer to center would create a more balanced comp.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 15, 2013 at 2:54 PM

Joseph,

Glorious sunrise! Sunstar and rays soft, but bold here and I think balanced in the scene very well. I like the silhouetted ridge - you have just enough for a solid foundation and given the situation, I'm personally not looking for detail there.

The only other comment I would have is that this appears slightly saturated - for my tasted, but not off my too much. Still a beautiful sunrise image.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on June 15, 2013 at 4:15 PM

Scott - Thanks for the comment, it was hovering just above freezing! Definitely not what you think of in the tropics but I think it made the air really clear, giving the colors that much more "pop". I was below the actual summit a bit so there was a hill to the right so I opted to put the rising sun to the right in order to cut out the hill and put more of that beautiful color in the frame. Later, when we went hiking I found a few other locations that I liked better but they'll have to wait until the next trip.

Lon - Thanks! It's hard to believe how rich the colors are on Haleakala. At first I was wondering what all the fuss was about but then the sun rose above the lower cloud base and was like...WOW! This is worth the early wake up and long drive up the mountain.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on June 15, 2013 at 6:51 PM

I saw a sunrise on Haleakala back in June 1985. I captured it an film and for sure it is difficult to capture the magnificence of a sunrise up there. The silhouette of the foreground cinder cones works well for me as do the color in the clouds an the sun star.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments