LOCATION: Kerry Park, Seattle, Wash.
GPS: 47°37'45.8743" N 122°21'36.679" W
EQUIPMENT: Canon 5D Mark IV | EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM | Manfrotto Tripod | Adobe Lightroom to create the panorama
THE STORY: I've stopped being a sunrise person.
Not completely, but now that I'm 44 years old, the idea of jumping out of bed and into the dark hour of predawn can't compete with slowly rising with a few cups of coffee and a comfortable chair.
More and more, if I'm going to venture into the softest light of day, it's going to be the golden and blue hours of evening.
Maybe that's why I continue to attach my heart to the panoramic image you see above.
I ventured to Seattle, Wash., during Autumn for a photo adventure on the Olympic peninsula followed by a meeting of other amazing professional photographers in the city.
That first morning, I forced myself awake, then into my rental car, then to Kerry Park. This is what happens when you're in a famous city for the first time, and as you drink the first cup of coffee you see the weather report is looking divine.
Oh hell. Why not?
Kerry Park isn't really a park. It's a strip of grass and gravel that has a modest playground along West Highland Drive, but it's main attraction is that vista.
All of downtown Seattle in its glory, with the Space Needle crowning the whole regal scene.
Get there in the cool predawn, and you won't have trouble competing for space with other photographers. Get there on a clear morning, and mercy will you be rewarded.
The image above is a 12-image panorama stitched together in Lightroom. I set my EF 24-70mm f/2.8L to a 50mm focal length, and I rotated my feet and body as I took each image so that nothing would be distorted by the lens.
Yes I was tired and cold, but I didn't care. So maybe getting up early is still worth it, even if I'd rather have that chair and a cup of hot coffee before I do anything.
Dave is a seasoned photographer and writer from Lancaster, Pa. You can reach him at dave@pidgeonseyeview.com.