04/21/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River

Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River–click on image for a larger view

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 24-70 lens @ 24mm, Image is a composite of several different exposures. There are times that I will remember more than others on the Buffalo River.  This photograph is one of those days as I had a great landscape opportunity on this morning.  While everyone else was out chasing the Elk, (which are a bit on the tame side) I found this scene near Roark and Bee bluffs.  The trees around this area vary from Maple, Sweet Gum and various Oaks.  Most often in the fall in Arkansas the various trees tend to change colors independently and don’t come together to give a great color display.  This spot near Steel Creek landing features two of the most prominent bluffs on the upper river and in the fall you can sometimes catch early sunrise shots like this one.  There was no wind and just a bit of light fog was rolling across the tops of the trees below the bluff.  I was able to shoot this scene only by using several different exposures to catch the bright sun and deep shadows in the foreground.   I am now finding that with a Nikon D800 many times scenes like this can be taken with just one exposure due to the extreme dynamic range of the sensor of the D800.