Sunrise, ocean, palm trees and a swimming pool

When Dorothy and I were in Myrtle Beach this past fall, I went down to the beach one morning to photograph the sunrise. After I felt that the sun was too high to continue … and I’d had enough of the cool morning air … I headed back into the building. Just before opening the door, I glanced back over my shoulder to see the sunrise through the open-air pool deck and I felt it merited one more shot. Sunrise, ocean, palm trees and a swimming pool all in one quick and gritty image.

sunrise over the hotel pool
Due to the extreme dynamic range of the image, I decided on a gritty HDR look to compensate. Larry Shapiro photo

Sun spots in the form of lens glare are visible as is a halo around the sun … all part and parcel for a dramatic HDR image with a touch of grunge. This file was run through Photomatix Pro 5 with all the sliders at or near the  high end of their range.