Oceanside Sunrise

Characteristics of this type of shot: Wide, epic-style sunrise scene.

Ingredients: The biggest part of this shot was luck—being lucky enough to be there one morning when Mother Nature delivered an awesomely cloudy sky to catch all that morning light. Without those clouds (with a bald sky) it would be okay because the light would be soft, but you wouldn’t have all that color, and that’s what really makes the shot. Taken from an overlook up high, with an ultra-wide-angle lens.

Location: Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, taken from the overlook at Dyrhólaey near the town of Vík, Iceland.

Camera settings: Shot in aperture priority mode; 14mm f/2.8 lens; ISO 100 at f/11; shutter speed: 1/30 of a second.