Landscape Photography - Stunning Italian Sunrise
Show Notes
A couple of weeks ago I scouted out some possible locations for landscape photography in Como, Italy and when I saw that there was a good chance of a colourful sunrise (thanks Photographer’s Ephemeris App), I planned to get to one of those viewpoints and capture the colours of the sunrise over the city. A great morning of Landscape Photography and a stunning Italian sunrise too!
During the location scouting I realised that the last viewpoint I visited would be the perfect location for a sunrise landscape photography session but the other locations would be better for a sunset shoot. Luckily this last viewpoint was the easiest of them to visit, which meant I just needed the right conditions for a sunrise to get some fantastic pictures! By keeping an eye on the photographer’s ephemeris app I saw when the map had a high probability of a colourful sunrise to the south, beyond the city. It was perfect!
5 am wake up and out the door by 6 after a coffee and checking I had all of my equipment ready. I walked through the quiet streets of Como in the dark. I had to find the viewpoint by approaching it from the other direction and in the dark but it wasn’t too difficult.
As I started to climb the hill the sky took on a pink hue and I knew this was going to be a great shoot. So I quickened my pace to get into position before the best light, and I made it to witness one of the pinkest sunrises I have ever seen. The whole landscape was bathed in a pink light. I have not adjusted the pinks in the images, those were how the camera saw the light. A truly stunning Italian sunrise!
Onto The Images
Location Scouting
Location Scouting Image
This was the last image I took on the day that I went hiking and location scouting. It was meant just as a reference so I didn’t take a lot of time composing my shot, I just took it handheld and I didn’t even notice the massive splotch of lens flare in the centre of the frame.
BUT, as I was processing the image I could see the possibilities for a better composition next time, if I eliminated a lot of the distractions and focused on the important parts of the scene. I also knew that it would be a good location for a sunrise as the sun rises behind the city. I just had to cross my fingers until I got the right conditions, luckily I didn’t have to wait very long…
Image 1
The first image that I managed on the morning of a glorious sunrise. This was just as the colours were beginning to develop and I really like the glow of the various street lamps through the image and I even like the streaking headlights of a car driving through the scene. The star of the show without a doubt is the contrasting colours that naturally developed in the sky. Pinks and blues in wonderful hues that would bathe the entire landscape in pink light.
Image 2
This was as the pink light really started to brighten up the whole scene. I kept with the initial composition except I tried to eliminate some trees that had crept into the bottom lefthand corner of the above image. The main subjects I wanted to focus on was the cathedral standing in the middle of the city and the elbow shaped jetty on the right.
Image 3
I switched from a portrait to a landscape orientation to reduce the contrasting colour of the sky and show more of the city. This initial image I tried to remove a pier that was cropping into the right hand side of the image and had distracting lights on it. But I didn’t notice the boat that was speeding through the harbour and is blurred on the water. Luckily for the next shot it had parked…
Image 4
I went a bit wider. The pier on the h=right hand side was a nice feature, so I decided a composition that included that might be a good one. I also eliminated the road and the hillock on the left hand side of the image. The Cathedral is now more to the left hand side as well.
Personally I prefer the landscape composition from Image 3 more than I do from Image 4 because I think image 4 is a bit more unbalanced, there is a lot of weight on the right side of the image that peters out towards the left, the cathedral pushed towards the edge makes it less prominent as well. But that’s my opinion, I’m curious which one you prefer!
Image 5
I tried to zoom in on the cathedral as the subject for an image. I liked the Castello Bardello sticking up on the hill behind the cathedral and the pink hue was still illuminating the city. The compression has made it seem a bit muddy but full size this is crystal clear.
Image 6
A Zoomed in landscape orientation. Again the emphasis was on the cathedral and I tried to position it on one of the Rule of Thirds intersections. A bit more of the hills in this one and there is a slight mist around the city throughout the images that morning. The misty conditions combined with the pink hue to create this fairytale like quality.
In all of the images I kept the white balance the camera chose for the images or I reduced the tint more towards the green end of the spectrum. I haven’t adjusted the pinks in anyway whatsoever and even the video footage has a pink hue to it. If I removed that pink hue it would not have been true to the scene.
Image 7
The last image of the morning. When I arrived at the viewpoint and I was trying to create a more compelling composition, I looked at whether the stairs would make an interesting foreground element. I thought initially that no they didn’t, because they are leading you out of the frame and cutting the image in half. But before I left that morning and after the pinks began to fade into a yellow, I grabbed this image just to think about later.
I’m still unsure of whether the stairs are a good or bad element to this image and I would love to hear your opinion on it as a foreground element in the comments below!
Conclusion
The premise of this day out was to return to a location that I had scouted earlier and get the perfect conditions for a good image. I think I was lucky in that I succeeded on my first return visit!
This was a great morning of pink light and one of the most colourful and dramatic sunrises I have ever seen. I have never seen a city bathed in a pink light before. It was a shame that the clouds with a more interesting structure were just out of sight but the contrast of the pink and blue in the sky was the perfect accent to the compositions.
I will probably return to this viewpoint another day to get different conditions, more golden light casting illuminating the cathedral instead of this pinky hue.
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About the Film
Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.
I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.
The tracks featured in today’s film were licensed via a subscription with Epidemic Sound. (By following that link, if you purchase a subscription then I will be gifted with a month free for referring you to their services)
We Fade Away by Deanz
Just Follow by Particle House
Gelatin Nature by Ooyy
No Signal Received by Jay Varton
A short Kit List
These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.
Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.
Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.
Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.
Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.
For a complete Landscape Photography Kit List you can read through what equipment I take with me when I go out here.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.