Sunrise Above the Clouds

Ok, this is an old image, but I am still mostly trying to figure out how best to represent different types of posts using the same page design. So any comments about color schemes / showing photos on a white background will be greatly appreciated.

How was this image created?

This was captured in December 2011, above Tazha (Тъжа), Bulgaria. My initial goal was to get the sun while it was between the two layers of clouds. However, we were climbing some fairly rocky terrain and there was barely space to step, let alone put up a tripod. By the time we reached a small terrace, the sun was already past the opening, so I snapped up three bracketed shots as quickly as possible trying to compose roughly following the rule of thirds. I did HDR mostly to bring out the lower half and to get the yellow strip of sky saturated enough.

I ended up sharpening significantly less than I usually do to compensate for these lens' softness because of the soft feel of the clouds. In any case, seeing it live definitely had a certain serene and soft feel. I distinctly remember listening to Tracy Chapman - Fast Car when I was post-processing, which sounds in line with that mood.

In any case, waking up before the sunrise was definitely worth it and the hike during that day was a blast. One of the few completely snow-covered routes I've done, with some fairly strong winds once we got above about 2,100m. Also, racing the clouds that were creeping upwards in the early morning was quite an experience -- I could only imagine what would have happened if we had to climb the very steady incline in a dense fog.