The Salutation of the Dawn

“Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn! Look to this Day! For it is Life, the very Life of Life. In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence. The Bliss of Growth, The Glory of Action, The Splendor of Beauty; For Yesterday is but a Dream, And To-morrow is only a Vision; But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. Look well therefore to this Day! Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!”

Kalidasa (Indian sanskrit poet in the 5th century A.D.)



Mists shrouding the plains below Blakemore Ridge, with the tower of St Mary's Church at Dartington bathed in the first light of a winter’s morning.

The sun had just risen over Blakemore ridge and for a few moments bathed some of the tree canopies with golden light and added a hint of gentle warmth to the mists.


Technical info:

Pentax K-X
Sigma 55-200mm DC lens

Manfrotto 190XProB tripod
Manfrotto 498RC2 panoramic ball-head

Cromatek circular polarizer

Aperture = f/22
Exposure durations = 1/30, 0.25, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.5 seconds
Focal length = 200mm
ISO = 200
(Manual mode & Spot-metering pattern)

HDR from 5 RAW files (manual bracketing) – using Photomatix Pro 3.27

Finished in Lightroom 3.6 and Photoshop 6.0