Print offers Dramatic view of Lake Ontario

I'm proud to introduce my latest print titled "Touchstones." This amazing creation almost didn't happen!

I was in Upstate New York to work with Bassmaster, shooting a fishing tournament, and woke up early on the day I was to head home. I climbed into the truck at about 6 a.m., with every intention of getting as far down the road as possible.

However, only a few minutes into the drive I saw a hint of color in the thick clouds, and it was too much for me to resist. I pulled over and started searching for a location for what I hoped would be a colorful sunrise.

I was just 20 minutes from the shores of Lake Ontario, and Point Peninsula looked to offer potential. So I turned off the main highway and hurried to find the perfect spot to set up.

I was almost at the end of Shore Road when I spotted a line of boulders extending into the lake, and I knew it was a winner. So I pulled over, grabbed my gear and eased down the bank behind a fishing camp.

The wind was absolutely howling, pushing the clouds through the sky and churning up the Lake Ontario surf. The clouds had wonderful texture, so I knew I wanted to include them. The solution was using a Sigma 14mm Art, a very wide-angle lens that is useful in creating drama. I positioned the camera so the line of boulders extended from the bottom right corner to provide a wonderful leading line right to the sunrise.

I slipped a Lee Filters .6 soft grad neutral density filter over the lens to darken the sky and help even out the exposure.

The light was low enough that I didn't really need anything else to slow down the shutter speed and create a creamy view of the crashing waves.

And then I waited.

Unfortunately, it soon became evident there would be no color. So I switched tack.

I visualized an image in which the clouds stretched overhead and slick-smooth water around the boulders. So I turned to a Little Stopper ND filter to extend the exposure time to 3 1/2 minutes.

The results were exactly what I wanted. I had to stop myself from yelling in victory. I just love the way the line of rock leads the eye right to the spot on the horizon where the sun is shining through the clouds. It's just perfect!

I headed south again knowing I had a wonderful new print to add to my online gallery!