As Catedrais
par Franck Bellœil (France)

I had arrived the day before in Ribadeo, Galicia. I had prepared in advance for this first day of photography in Spain: tide and sunrise times, the only unknown was the weather. A quick scout on the evening of my arrival confirmed that the location I'd chosen was accessible. So I set off around 6:00. It wasn't so much the sunrise that interested me, but the lights that preceded it. So I waited, taking an occasional photo to see how the light evolved, refining the composition as it got brighter and brighter until that moment, between the end of the blue hour and the beginning of the golden hour. Moreover, on this occasion, there would be no sunrise on the horizon; a bank of clouds blocked its rays. On the other hand, I could take advantage of its light, reflected by the atmosphere, to photograph the backlit cliffs, while maintaining enough detail in the darker tones.
This is actually my very first keeper of that day at 6:45. It's a 120s exposure long.

My intent here was to take advantage of the corridor formed by the cliffs to channel the light and therefore, the eye as well, to the brightest spot which was where the sun was to rise. The reflected light as well as the sea sprays helped a lot to give this feeling of depth. I enhanced this effect in post process.

tripod, 24-70 mm

44mm, ISO 50, 120s @f/11