Taken with: Canon 5D MK II, Zeiss 21mm Distagon T* F2.8, Heliopan Polarizer, Lee Foundation Kit, Singh-Ray 3 Stop Reverse ND Grad, Gitzo Traveler Tripod T1541
This image was taken in beautiful Dominican Republic, my first sunrise from a short but very relaxing week in Samana. Recently I was very fortunate to have received the Zeiss 21mm Distagon T* F2.8 lens from the wonderful people at Zeiss Germany, so what better time than now to start testing this baby. I have made some previous test at home to compare edge to edge sharpness against my Canon 17-40 and was blown away by the results I got. The Zeiss was definitely a lot sharper than the Canon. Ok, some will say I am not comparing apples with apples, one is a zoom and Utra-wide at 17mm and the other one is fixed at 21mm. I am all aware of this, but comparing what I have to work with is what I did and I am no professional when it comes to testing camera and lenses…I simply go with what I see & feel. Given that in the past I have work almost entirely with my 17-40…it was a real breath of fresh air to work with the Zeiss 21mm..First of all just holding it feels good, I am sure you have already heard this 1000 times but the built quality of their lenses is absolutely phenomenal. You know you have a nice piece of equipment the minute you take it out of the box. Now my main question was, Would I be able to sacrifice 17mm which gives you very nice dramatic extra wide shots for a narrower field of view (21mm) but increased sharpness? Well that question wasn’t too hard to answer since my new direction is mainly providing Limited Edition Large fine art prints, so I have to choose the lenses that will provide me with superior sharpness & clarity. If this means loosing a few mm, I think I can live with that. Once you have the lens on, you automatically adjust your way of shooting to optimize whichever lens you are shooting with.
On that particular morning I really had no clue where to shoot sunrise, we had gotten to the Island very late the night before (1AM) or should I say the same morning 
and the whole place was pitch dark so I simply went to bed for a few hours and decided to get up earlier (5;30AM) to scout the area before sunrise. I had already planned in my head to do a straight on beach shot so my main concern was, How do I get the the beach? Being on a small Island, it really wasn’t hard to find I found the perfect spot to take my shot, one where I absolutely had nothing but sand sea and sky in my composition, sat in the sand and waited approx an hour before sunrise. For me this is the most relaxing moment ever. That hour before sunrise when you can witness the birth of a new day. There is something really magical about it and I strongly suggest to all of you that travel to try it…don’t lay there in bed till 8AM you will have missed the whole show. Get up an hour before sunrise, find a good location and enjoy the show. I am sure you will thank me for it .
I wanted a shot that conveyed the beauty of the Beach at sunrise and at the same time that wonderful feeling of being there waiting for the waves to crash at your feet. I am not going to lie to you, I didn’t get this on the first shot but knowing exactly what I was looking for helped me wait for that perfect moment to press the shutter. In a situation like this, I strongly suggest that you use a remote trigger and simply focus on the scene. Be ready to capture it as it happens. If you have your eyed glued to the viewfinder or LCD your chances of missing that perfect moment will greatly increase. I took several shot but I knew right away when this image popped on the LCD that this was exactly the shot I was looking for. It had all the elements I had envisioned and triggered the wonderful feeling I was hoping for. Hope you like it as much as I do and that it does trigger in you that feeling I was hoping for.
Follow your Dreams and Live everyday with Passion
Pat
