Don't stare into the sun

Image altered slightly to increase the yellow undertone and shading.

Ask a child the color of the sun and most will reply that it's yellow. Just as color changes the way we perceive tastes, we too have an expectation that certain things must be specific colors otherwise the image seems off somehow. Discovering a building hiding in this photo, I decided to see if I could tweak the lighting to bring out its edges. In doing so I altered the color and found the yellow was best for the shading as well as the color.

Unaltered image

Art/altered version of the sun rise to create a deliberate blurring.

When I stepped onto the front porch this morning I was met with a fog as thick as pea soup. Inspired, I went inside and grabbed my camera. My errands would wait. The fog and the soon rising sun would not.

As my morning passed, the fog changed and the sun began to rise. At the end, I stared into the sun for a moment, and knew this set of shots would be my last for the morning. The gentleness of color was ceding to the glare of a sun ready to burn away the remnants of the last fog.

This was the sun in its raw anger. 

Raw image of the sun rise

 

Over several minutes I shot numerous pictures using a variety of settings. I was parked in the driveway of a closed bank. The way the sun struck me as I rounded the corner had caught my attention. I stopped. I shot. I shot blindly as the sun pierced the tree line, blinding me with its growing intensity. The building at the bottom of the picture was unknown to me as I photographed. I literally photographed over my head only bringing the camera down to eye level to adjust the settings, hoping for something usable. Though hardly of professional quality, I was thrilled with the impressionistic results and have altered a few photos to bring about results pleasing to me.

Unaltered image

The fog seemed to quickly burn away as I stood there.

Unaltered image

Fog blurs the lines. It adds a dreamy effect to the tree line as the branches lose their edges. The sky was whitened by the sun's overpowering glare.

Unaltered image

Fog burning away brings clarity. The glare of the sun was reduced and changed the sky from white to yellow.