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Nikon D700 and lens Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2.0 ZF. Taken on Tripod with wireless trigger at ISO 400, 1/3s f/4.0. White balance on manual at 3000K.
It is always a pleasure to the eyes to see how the same landscape can be transformed through so many different colors of the natural light. Here it was 40 minutes before sunrise at 6:00 in the morning. With the white balance set-up at the level of incandescent light temperature, the bluish cast along with the pink tones characteristic of dawn contrasted nicely with the yellow/orange lights of the street lighting. The long pose as well as the lack of wind created also a mirror like reflection on the river. Finally the pine tree above me helped me frame the photo and fill up a portion of the empty sky.
The very cold night (-16 degrees C) also helped in enhancing the visibility and in amplifying the puffs of smoke coming out of the heating system of the various buildings reinforcing the winter/cold mood.
I had two layers of clothes and two layers of silk gloves to weather this moment but felt I belonged to the bed I had left too early at 5:00 am for a sunrise that finally came near 7:00 a.m. My fingers were stiff, barely capable to trigger the camera, therefore the use of a Phottix wireless trigger inside my winter coat pocket. Next time I will investigate better the sunrise hours in my city :).