Sunrise shots from the top of the Comeraghs C&C

Diabhal_Glas

I took this shot over Coumshingaun lake in the Comeragh Mountains last Summer-



You can see out into the Atlantic on a clear day and I was thinking how nice it would be to see the sunrise from up here.
I checked the sunrise angle



Last Wednesday was perfectly clear so I was out on the mountainside at 5:30am in the darkness with a torch, suitable clothing, tripod, canon 400d and 17-40L lens, big effort for me as Im not exactly a morning person!
I managed to get to the top for sunrise



Its still a bit icy up there!



I was delighted that some clouds appeared soon enough and the reflections in the still lake (first time I've ever seen it mirror like) were well impressive.
I'd love some opinions on this vertical panorama or vertorama so to speak.
So I bracketed the RAW files +/-1 stop, here are the shots right out of the camera-




So here are some possible vertoramas, I know its going to be a HDR but I kind of see 'HDR' as a dirty word these days after all the cartoon like creations I'm seeing on Flickr.
I havent sharpened anything or used any noise reduction so they probably look a bit soft, but Im just concerned about the the look for now.




1-Ive used most of the dynamic range available for this and stitched and manually blended them in CS3.
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2- I eased off and let the sun blow out a bit in this, I havent added any contrast yet

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I was also thinking about cropping out half the lake and the top of the sky above the sun for a more realistic perspective..

But the crop is another story im really only concerned about the processing for now....
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I want one decent shot from this that captures the mood and the view that isnt so overdone (shot 1!) something that looks close to natural. I understand It will never look that natural with the light range and the vertical stitched view.

But I'd appreciate any opinions on what you'd do processing wise?

Thanks for your input and dont hold back on the criticism

Roy Rogers

Can't really offer much in the way of suggestions, I'm afraid, but that's some amazing source material to work with.

Fair play to you for getting out and up that early!

For what it's worth, I prefer the second option, assuming you're going to go back and tweak it a bit more.

mike65

Fantastic, you must be pleased as punch with the best of that lot. (1 and 3 for me)

In the dim and distant past I thought about going up there for a few pics and then walking over to the other side to overlook the Nire valley but never got round to it.

How much like hard work is it?

Diabhal_Glas

Thanks for the input Roy

mike65 wrote: »

Fantastic, you must be pleased as punch with the best of that lot. (1 and 3 for me)

In the dim and distant past I thought about going up there for a few pics and then walking over to the other side to overlook the Nire valley but never got round to it.

How much like hard work is it?

Cheers Mike, I didn't really know what to expect but yeah I was delighted with the clouds and the reflections.
You need a lot of time hiking up there as your likely to go into boggy holes at any time!
Its a lot easier walking up there when its freezing as the soil hardens up and the bogs can be a right pain in the ass. You can go down into holes at any stage. Its much easier hiking around the perimeter looking down on the fields below.
The mist can roll in real quickly and it all looks the same up there when you are in the central part so I wouldn't like to forget a compass.

Pittens

You are looking North to Tipperary here, right? Where would Clonmel and Carrick be on that picture, and whar is the mountain in the Valley ahead. SlieveNamon?

The Comeraghs seem like an underused Irish resort.

Diabhal_Glas

Pittens wrote: »

You are looking North to Tipperary here, right? Where would Clonmel and Carrick be on that picture, and whar is the mountain in the Valley ahead. SlieveNamon?

The Comeraghs seem like an underused Irish resort.

Im looking East, in these shots over the lake. If you look at the map I was standing roughly where the red marker is.
Carrick is North East-ish and Clonmel & Sliabh na Mban is somewhere over to the North West Ish.

Resort eh :eek: hopefully never

DK32

Number one wins it for me. Fantastic images overall. Congrats!

Pittens

Resort eh hopefully never

Meant to say resource. But yes, resort hopefully never.

EDIT; and of course you were looking East :-)

ColmDawson

You've got some beautiful stuff there. Of the HDR essays, I think the first is definitely the best.

Freddie59

These are stunning. The Comeraghs - my favourite scenery - anywhere. In the most undersold County in Ireland. Well done.:)

mike65

True but in this regard I'm glad - imagine Lismore choked with Yanks or the Comeraghs buried under rucksack clad Continentals. Yuck!

Borderfox

Really nice stuff and very well illustrated and explained

Diabhal_Glas

mike65 wrote: »

True but in this regard I'm glad - imagine Lismore choked with Yanks or the Comeraghs buried under rucksack clad Continentals. Yuck!

Very true Mike, love the place exactly the way it is.

bullpost

Diabhal_Glas wrote: »

Very true Mike, love the place exactly the way it is.

Too true. Who wants all those tourist-related jobs anyway? We might not have a pot to piss in but we're happy

Ghost Train

Great sunrise

For the panorama I'd use the top two photos on the left side with the bottom photo on the right side

If you haven't tried stitching with microsoft ice, it might be a good test for it

Diabhal_Glas

bullpost wrote: »

Too true. Who wants all those tourist-related jobs anyway? We might not have a pot to piss in but we're happy

Well Bull, I love those mountains the way they are, you can head out hiking just about any time and you'd hardly meet a soul, there aren't really any worn trails in most parts and the place is serene.
I'm saving up for a pot and yes happy as

Gr1f

Wow, ok i have to get there. You got really lucky with those clouds! Love the drama of the 1st blended one, great stuff.

Just added photos to pixie.ie. Yet ANOTHER online gallery!! they should really all sync up from one source.
http://pix.ie/grif/album/371378

Fionn

good photographs congrats on getting up so early in the morning

Visuelle

Great views from up there, well done with the shots.

Freddie59

Diabhal_Glas wrote: »

Im looking East, in these shots over the lake. If you look at the map I was standing roughly where the red marker is.
Carrick is North East-ish and Clonmel & Sliabh na Mban is somewhere over to the North West Ish.

Resort eh :eek: hopefully never

You're looking out over Croughán Hill then? Absolutely breathtaking. It must be some feeling when you're standing up there.:)

And Mike - I see where you're coming from. But when you see the song and dance made about other 'scenic' areas those shots really bring it home as to how beautiful County Waterford (and the surrounding Counties) actually are.