Sunrise on Colley Hill
Equipment
Nikon Z8 camera
Nikon Z 24‑70mm f/2.8 S II
Manfrotto tripod
Editing in Lightroom Classic
1/120 f9 iso 64
The Scene
Being awake very early (as usual), I could see the potenial for a fantastic sunrise
It was cold, frost covered the cars, and the sky was perfectly clear with Orion setting and the West and Jupiter just above
Rucksack packed, handwarmers in my pockets, I set off in the dark for one of my favourite landscape locations near Reigate, Colley Hill
Colley Hill is part of the North Downs in Surrey
It is 19 miles South of Central London
Arrival …
The first light of dawn begins to spill over the horizon, turning the frozen hillside above Reigate into a silver-blue dreamscape.
Frost glitters across the grass, every blade catching the earliest rays like tiny shards of glass.
A thin veil of mist drifts through the valley, softening the outlines of trees and rooftops below, as if the town is still half-asleep beneath a pale winter blanket
1/120 f9 iso 64
1/120 f9 iso 64
As the sun rises, golden beams cut through the haze, illuminating pockets of the countryside with dramatic shafts of light.
The sky, clear and crisp, shifts from deep indigo to rose-gold, mirrored faintly on every frosted surface.
Each breath hangs in the cold air, crisp and silent except for the distant hum of morning beginning.
A perfect November morning for photography
