Winter Sunrise Glow at Green LakeCold of the Season, Warmth of the Sunrise This was a wonderful morning for photography, or just a walk around the Green Lake in Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY. It was one of those sunrises that could go either way. The dawn started with a clear sky not promising much color at sunrise but soon, some clouds started arriving and the game was on. Would there be enough of them? Or would too many arrive obstructing the horizon?

It was also a signature Western New York winter morning, with everything covered in white and temperatures just above 0°F. The snow was creaking under my feet and the air was fresh. I was the only one in Yates Park for the moment and everyone around seemed to still be asleep.

I was initially planning on incorporating the pier into my sunrise photos, and managed to do so in a few, but they did not turn out to be my favorite ones from this morning. Instead, the frozen lake covered with a layer of snow captured my attention. I played around with open compositions and also those incorporating the tree you can see in this first photo. I was glad to have arrived with plenty of time before sunrise to work the location and see what I liked. I also had time to position my split neutral density filter and be ready.

Then the sun made it over the tree line in the background and through the clouds. It nicely lit the clouds from below and bathed the lake snow cover in warm glow. Everything was ready and with just a quick tweak of exposure the first sunrise photo was born. The clouds cooperated for a while and I had time for additional compositions with the tree on the right, including the pier, and with the sun shining through the tree trunks.

When I thoroughly enjoyed the western side of Green Lake and started feeling the chill in my feet and fingers I threw the tripod over my shoulder, with the camera still mounted, and headed towards the car. I like not to pack things up until I am at the car and sure the outing is over. It's so easy to pack too early and then either miss a photo or hurry to unpack again. This approach served me well before and again this morning. One of the benches along the lake shore seemed to provide the ideal view of the sun slowly rising over the lake and I liked the whole glowing back-lit scene a lot. The tripod went back on the ground and I was able to get the photo below.

Quiet Sunrise at Green LakeBench with a View

A Bench with a Sunrise View at Green Lake, Yates Park, Orchard Park, New York.

What a beautiful show nature put up! Have fun finding your morning glow!

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Graduated Cokin ND Filters (ND8,  ND4), Cokin P Holder with a 72 mm Adapter, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), Jackery Bar 5600mAh (usually o hand to keep the smart phone going), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

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