This photograph titled First Light features Lake Sils (Silsersee) and Piz de la Margna mountain at sunrise. The location of this viewpoint is near Sils in the Swiss Engadin region. Mother Nature tends to be very generous over there with key photography elements like colour (in trees, sunsets and sunrises), fog and changing weather. Especially in Autumn. As a result, Engadin is one of my favourite Alpine regions.
First Light, alpenglow on the Swiss Alps at the Silsersee
A lake landscape in B&W, featuring the Swiss Alps around Piz de la Margna mountain at sunrise with alpenglow on the peaks and the mountain range reflected in Lake Sils (Silsersee).
This photograph of Lake Sils at sunrise is a 4-minute exposure. The sunrise gave the peaks to the left a vibrant orange glow, and I liked the yellow in the sky at the end of the lake. I, however, prefer the tones in this black & white rendition.
The sky was dotted with clouds, which made it and its reflection in the lake too overwhelming. Therefore, I opted for a long exposure to make the end result less busy. I often convert my long exposures to B&W. Partly because I usually like them better that way and partly because long exposures in colour are rather tricky to get right. The current neutral density filters mess up the white balance. They also add a colour cast. These things are fixable in post-processing. That’s not an easy task, however. These things are fixable in post-processing. That’s not an easy task, however.
A stack of two neutral density filters pushed the exposure time to four minutes. I used a Nikon D800E with a 24mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens. The settings were: 24mm, ƒ/10, 242s and ISO200. Hope you like how it came out ?!
Click on the photograph to learn more about it or to buy a print or licence of this photograph of Lake Sils at sunrise. For more photographs of lakes visit our Lakes landscape photography theme. You will also find some more photos of Lake Sils taken at sunrise.
Cheers, Johan 🙂
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This photograph of Lake Sils at sunrise is part of the Lakes landscape photography theme. That theme also includes:
Please visit our Black and White Photography portfolio to see black & whitem photos in general.
Thanks Christina and Ramesh ! :)
Beautiful
Very good. Thanks!!
Schitterend…heel mooi, groetjes
Dank je wel weer !
@David: thanks David! It’s yours if you want it! 🙂
@Mamo: thank you very much Mamo. Thanks for catching up here ! Hope you enjoyed it 🙂
Johan, you’re most welcome! it was pure pleasure for the eyes and the soul as always! Cheers!
That’s a great compliment Mamo! Thank you! 🙂
Magnificent light, superb shot Johan!
Great one Johan ! could be my wallpaper ;)
I am still dreaming of such a shot …
One day you’ll get one Matthias! I am hoping for more as well. Will be going back there in October 🙂
So beautiful :)
Thank you Mutita ! 🙂
Wow!! The kiss of sunlight makes this image so exciting! And I adore the sky. Really beautiful work, as always :)
Thank you Sinead. Has to be viewed large the appreciate the glow on the mountain peaks 🙂
Amazing low light scene!
Thanks again Daniel !!
Beautiful light and colours! So serenity!
Many thanks Emanuele !!
Simply beautiful Johan
Thank you Charles !
Very nice one Johan
Thank you Martin 🙂 How are things?
Many thanks Daniel and Rohan ! :)
Beautiful light Johan
An awesome and peaceful picture. I like it a lot Johan
Outstanding image, Johan!! How wonderful to experience this moment. You are very lucky!!
Thank you Maggy! I am a very lucky man to be able to travel to these gorgeous places a lot :)
Woow this is fantastic !!
Hey thanks Enrique! Glad you like it 🙂
super capture Johan.
Many thanks Bev! 🙂
Perfect Johan!!
Thanks Markus!
@Gerard: many thanks Gerard! Good luck with that garden 😉
@Gail: thank you Gail! 🙂
Gorgeous colours, beautiful image Johan
Wonderful tones in this shot – love it!
I love the blue tones and silhouettes
Hey thanks Javier! :)
@Johan: thanks a lot Johan! Glad to see you around 🙂
@Hope: many thanks Hope 🙂
so peaceful…
Wow – really love this Johan – magic work :)
Wonderful atmosphere, Johan !
thank you Carsten! 🙂
Dark beauty with such subtle colours Johan – I love this!
Many thanks Joel ! :)
Such a beautiful-dreamy image!. Color or b&w are always welcome to my eyes and soul… BUDDY no body, being so careful that this technology doesn’t change my words, haaa.
Have a great week, bud!!! :)
Many thanks and have a great rest of the week!
noooo worries, only smile 🙂 in the beautiful way that you do all the time. Well, it is how your profile pic shows :).
Hope you are having an excellent week!
:o)
Ow… Johan what a beauty! I love the colours and reflection so much. The light just on top of the mountain…… “genieten”!
Dank je wel Aline! Glad you like it 🙂 Best leuk he Zwitserland 😉
stunning landscape
Many thanks Ralph!
Well done. Next photowalk somebody will take a note what and how you do every photo-spot 😉 Congratulation for this awesome work, mate.
Thanks+Philippe! 🙂
Mother nature was generous indeed, and you made the most out of it. It’s a very subtle blueish appearance, combined with this orange glow up there. Very nice! :-)
thanks maestro! Have fun in Ticino the coming days. Would love to be there!!
Congratulations, well deserved to be the cover of Photoextract !!! :-)
thanks Elena! Always a nice surprise 😀
Your usual high bar of excellence! Glad you finally got recognized for your superior eye for wilderness beauty, and your craft, hats off Johann!
many thanks again Ed! Always nice to be in PhotoExtract 🙂
So blissfully beautiful Johan!
Thanks for the blissful comment Louisa. Nice to see you around again! 🙂
It is a pleasure, good to be back :)
Thanks again 🙂
Congratulation to the #plusphotoextract Johan! 😀
… it is also a brilliant picture – absolutely deserved!!
yes, I noticed PhotoExtract! 🙂 Thank you!
Great one Johan
Hey thanks Mikael ! :)
Hi Johan! Beautiful job, as always btw :))) What I like here… fantastic landscape, great colours, intriguing lights and the movements on the clouds. Everything play here perfectly! How did you back from this place? Did you sleep in the tent? I going to do some couple trips like that… Amazing work my friend! Best Regards!
Thank your very much for the kind words and compliment! I stayed in a hotel nearby, so no tent this time. I shot this in October so didn’t even have to get up that early. Think I got up at 5 and shot this close to 7 🙂 Hope all is fine in real life with you as well!
Lol :))) One day I want to take my version of the Milky Way and tent somewhere in the mountain ;))) But still need f/2.8 lens ;))) So this photo was taken in October??? You should have extended library of the most current photos! I hope to see them soon ;)
can I join? 🙂 Ow, I still have many images from the past few years that I haven’t shared here. I jump back and forth in my library and pick one dependent on the time of year and my previous posts. I try to offer a bit of variety 🙂
😀 No problems Johan! You are welcomed! :))) I know what you mean, I try avoid to repeat the same theme twice in short time too. But we (want to see more often your photos! We love them… we want to comments them… ;))) One photo per 2 weeks is too little ;))) Just joking… Best Regards! 😀
seriously, I would love to shoot in Scotland. I might combine it with a trip to Ireland 🙂
Lol, every time I post I say to myself I should post more often, but then reality takes over. I need to shut myself off from social media to actually shoot, be productive and work on images.
Stunning Johan!
Many thanks Sandy! :)
Wonderful mood here Johan, great shot!
thanks! Now this is one of the reasons I moved from NL to CH ! 🙂
Majestic.
Thank you Ypille! Nice to meet you 🙂
Stunning shot ! Good afternoon to you my dear Johan 😀
Hey good afternoon Syuzanna 🙂 Thank you. Glad you like it!
@Tom: hey Mr. Entertainment! You know I do expect an Elvis selfy from you soon now don’t you?! Thanks for the compliment Tom!
@Christa: hi Christa! Many thanks for the kind words! Hope all is well with you!?
But that would require an Elvis outfit at the very least, and I have none. 😛
Congrats on the cover feature, Johan!
hey you have the wings already. Grow a pair of huge sideburns. Add some dark glassed, lift one side of your upper lip and you are almost there 😀
And yes thanks!
You got this all figured out and have my vote. I’ll send you the wings. :D
darn, you are way too smart 😀
If you’ve never been wrong before then this is the first. :D
I don’t believe you 😀
@Joan: dank je wel Joan! Hoe is het in Nederland. Al zomer?
@Robert: danke vielmals Robert! 🙂
@cafrin : many thanks Cafrin! 🙂
You are welcome!
We hebben deze week heerlijk lenteweer. Alles schiet de grond uit en dan is Nederland echt mooi! Een fijne week verder Johan :)
geniet ervan! Het is hier helaas nat vandaag …
@Michelle: thank you Michelle 🙂
@Mady: thanks for the kind words Mady! 🙂
@Ed: thanks for the “yummy” Ed ! 🙂
@Оксана: glad you like it Oksana 🙂
@Asa: it is isn’t it 😉 Thanks for the compliment and for stopping by!
A dramatic sky, the reflections in the water and the mountains with that streak of sunlight starting to illuminate the peaks all contribute to a veritable eye-catcher!
This is silky and wonderful Johan. The sunshine peak gives me enough reason to want it in colour. :)
Your photos are stunning!absolutel glassy water&the light, magical!!
Great photo and work Johan!
Sublime shot, great information as well, thanks Johan !
marvelously peaceful, perfect comp, yummy!
wonderful picture,nice reflection and colours
So wonderful with a vision of wonderful beauty Johan
Wow Johan, this is really quite something!
Stunning! Wonderful beauty!
Johan things have been busy, travel plans have been set back a year. CH?
CH = Switzerland 🙂 you mentioned once that you were planning to come over this year.
Oh my, oh my!! This is fantastic Johan! Doesn’t happen often, but I’m speechless! 🙂
finally I manage to make you speechless 😉 Thanks for the kind words!
an image you kind of fall into. Delightful.
Thank you Robert !
great light and reflection here Johan
Thank you Walter !!
@Olga: dank je wel 🙂
@Sairam: thanks for that Sairam! I like it a lot as well. It still need to grow a bit on me compared to some of my other work 🙂
just checking back to see this one. This is one of my favs of yours Johan !
Awesome deep colour and light variation. Magical!
Those colours remind me of a Rousseau painting, beautiful and dreamy :)
That’s a very nice comparison Tania! Thank you for that 🙂
@Chris: thanks for the compliment Chris! It is not easy indeed. Hopefully one day someone will come up with the perfect ND filter 🙂
@Alex: many thanks Alex! 🙂
Fantastic long exposure, great capture Johan!
This is sublime, love it! I know how hard it can be to correct the colour casts from 10-stop filters but I think that what you’ve ended up with here looks great :)
very sharp picture and nice colours!
Thanks Marc!
Of course is worth it when it pays with such an amazing image! Thank you!
thanks again Anna ! 😀
Wow! Wonderful colours and silhouette !
Thank you very much Ke Zeng !!
Wow. Gorgeous deep colours in this, Johan… Love the low key and the dark reflections/silhouettes…
thanks a bunch Shawn!
Very subtle and serene thanks John
Thank you very much for the compliment Mona :)
It is a pleasure Johan to view your photographs, so thank you for sharing :-).
my pleasure 🙂 Thanks again for the kind words!
Love the colours and the reflection! Wonderful Johan
many thanks Diego! :)
@Marilou: many thanks Marilou! 🙂
@Jamal: glad you think so Jamal. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
@Subra: many thanks Subra! 🙂
Beautiful imagery mate!
That’s a lovely photo Johan :-)
Absolutely beautiful and magical and love the tones Johan!
Beauty and Serenity ! I like the colours of the sky, the reflections over the lake and the delicate light over the summits on the left. A great work ! Thanks for this spectacular view :-))
Thanks for the great comment Jean-Michel!
omg, totally impressive! this is one of the most spectacular pictures i’ve ever seen. excellent capture and processing technique. absolutely breathtaking, dear johan:))
xoxo
hey Betty 🙂 Glad you like it 🙂
Johan, always come back to this one, love it. Btw, my mail work mail works again :))
Thanks again Anette and that is good news! 🙂 Btw did you know that Engadin is also the place where I “shot” that group of steinbocke ? :)
nope, did not know. Want to go in June/July to find some of those. People tell me all kind of places in Swissy where to go :))
yeah, I think you need some luck. Often they are there, but you not always notice. I ran into them in various locations. Usually the big problem is that the angle you get on them is not very nice. At least I don’t like to shoot them from a lower position 🙂
same level would be nice. Maybe we see a few at Pilatus :))
Hopefully Anette 🙂
fabulous LE, that reflection is perfect !
Thank you David! It was worth getting up early for :)
@Christof: thanks for the compliment! Figured you knew Engadin 🙂
@Jim: great comment. Thanks Jim!
@Zielona: thank you 🙂
@Ada: lol thank you Ada! 🙂 Me too 😉
@Markus: danke dir Markus! Have a great week!
@Mikko: like a painting 😉 Thank you!
@Anna: waking up early is so worth it in photography Anna! Thank you 🙂
@Rodolfo: you are very welcome Rodolfo and thank you!
@Jerry: lol thanks Jerry!
@Tuan: thanks Tuan!
@Margaret: well thank you. Guess you can’t be the first every time 😀
@E.E. Giorgi: thank you Elena !
@Mike: thanks for the wow Mike and nice to meet you!
@Michael: thank you Michael. Yes the LE had an interesting effect, especially in the sky. There is quite some stucture in there 🙂
@Johnny: thank you Johnny!
@Carolyn: many thanks for the kind words and share Carolyn! 🙂
@Margaret: many thanks Margaret!
@Michael: thanks Michael and thanks for the re-tweet as well! 🙂
@George: thanks! Yes, think it worked out well as well 🙂
@Victoria: you make me smile 😀 Thank you! I will try to not let you wait so long next time 🙂
@Didier: merci Didier!
@Barbara: thank you 🙂
Great long exposure Johan. The fine lines in the clouds is what I like most. And I agree with you, the Engadin is one of the most beautiful parts of mother earth :-)
I am in love! :)
Amazing view:)
So much mood in this one Johan. Like being somewhere between a dream and reality. Love it!!
Brilliant work! Looks like a magical place! ( Without the part waking up so early)
Absolutly stunning view, so beautiful abs powerful!
a wonderful light
Beautiful capture Johan. Love the strong shadows and the early morning blues.
WOW TO THE EIGHTH POWER Johan ! 🙂
Wonderful!
Wow this is really stunning!
wow, I really love the colour and teh abstract feel of this, beautiful !
Stunning Johan !! I absolutely love this!!
Stunning image all around Johan.
something quite painterly to it Johan , cant put my finger on it but it, in a pleasant way :), reminds me more of a realistic cgi render then a photograph.
But, yep i like it =)
So job well done once again Johan
Really peaceful scene with lovely colours, enhanced by the reflections and gold tips on the peaks :)
Lovely! I like the tonality and the mood of the scene. Thank you for the backgrounder on where and how you shot the image.
Terrific Johan! The 4 minutes worked really well here.
Awesome photo Johan !
Moody and mysterious Johan. Love the little hint of golden light on the mountain tops. Beautifully and creatively processed!
very nice work!
OOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGG : )))))))
you make of the waiting something worth !
such a magnificent photo Johan !
love the mirror reflections as the light and shadows, wonderful colours and that subtle sunlight on the top of the mountain is really beautiful !
<3 it ! 😀
Wonderful work Johan, I’m happy you chose colour for this instead of black & white. Those deep colours are beautiful :)
Thank you very much Meg ! :)
Perfect location for a workshop indeed 🙂 I like the glow on the mountain tops.
Thought so Armand. Btw that glow only lasts for 1 long exposure 🙂
@David: thank you David!
@Matthias: many thanks Matthias! 🙂
fantastic, love the soft sky and the last glimpse of light on the peaks.
Really nice silhouetted symmetry, and long exposure Johan
@Dermot: thanks for the compliment Dermot!
@CJ: many thanks CJ!
really beautifully done, Johan!
The colours are remarkable Johan and the gentle light on the mountain peaks are a beautiful detail. Wonderful shot!
@Baki: you are very welcome Baki. Thanks for the kind words 🙂
@Claudia: many thanks! Lol, du meinst die Niederlande 😉
Spectacular shot, love the blue!
(und ich dachte immer, die Schweiz sei flach!)
Great work and amazing colours!
@Maggy: thanks Maggy! 🙂
@Dominique: thanks! Zwitserland is best mooi 😉
So beautiful! Dat is wel heel prachtig. Zo sereen en zacht.
Awesome tones and reflections!! Great work, Johan!! :)
This turned out great! Awesome work!
hanks for the awesome comment Mark ;)
@Michael: many thanks Michael!
@Dalibor: glad you luke it Dalibor! 🙂
so wonderful Johan
Nice feeling to this one.
Pure serenity – love it!
thank you 😀
@Bill: well thank you Bill 🙂
@Anne: glad you do Anne. Thank you!
Very dramatic, love the colours in the sky and reflected in the water.
Beauty to behold!
Magnifique
Thank you Paul!
I do, I do like your choices Johan 🙂 Its a beautiful image. Just that hint of dawn light on the tips of the mountains is exquisite.
Thanks John. That’s my favourite part! You should keep this place in mind when you decide to come to CH! 🙂
wonderful shot, tones and wonderful reflection!
Thank you Gemma!
Yes! Great shot. The light is really something else.
Thanks Rikard. Do you know the area well?
@Martin: thank you Martin! Will we meet on a photo walk soon?
@Kerry: glad you think so Kerry! Thank you! 🙂
Oh those colours and smoothness. This is stunning Johan!
Perfect!
Thank you Елена !! 🙂
@Andi: thanks for the very kind words Andi!!
Outstanding image. What’s not to like, beautiful colours, reflections and shapes. Thank you for sharing a wonderful image and great description!
Fantastic, Johan ! Thanks a lot !
FANTASTIC Johan, Looooove it :)))
thank you! I think I am not done playing with it yet. There is a touch too much green in the yellow to my taste, but that could also be a result of the sRGB conversion …
you can check that green in Photoshop in profiles, there you can switch and see if it turns green when converting to sRGB? Before you hang again hours on this one. I love it the way it is done. As well sign myself already up for the Workshop, but still want the one on one as well :)))
I don’t mind hanging with an image for hours Anette 🙂 I can see it in LR as well. sRGB makes it more obvious. It is not a big issues though. I like it as is anyway :)
Great reflections !
Thank you very much Eric !!
Very cool shot Johan, love the colour and feel
thanks Jim! How have you been? Still planning to come to CH?
That is gorgeous !
The tones are incredible…
and thank you Johan for your technical explanation :-))
thank you and you are very welcome Thierry! 🙂
Gorgeous and refreshing image Johan! I hear what you’re saying about colour LE. I haven’t been happy with my own experiments with it but I sure love this.
thank you! Yes, it is tough. I think I re-did this one about 20 times and I will probably re-do it again at some point. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be perfect reality. With sunrise and sunset colours there is a lot of artistic freedom :)
Johan, I totally agree on the colour choices for that time of day (and night shots). Its kind of a relief actually. :)
why a relief?
I’m somewhat colour blind so fine tuning colour is sometimes a real task for me. If there’s creative leeway its easier. Does that make sense?
yes it does make sense Kurt. I slightly have the same “problem” :)
Awesome shot Johan! Love this one, the colours, the reflections, just awesome!
thanks a lot for the compliments Sairam !! 🙂
Beautiful view!
Thank you Shelly 🙂 Have a great week!
Very nice!
you are very welcome and thanks! Nice to meet you by the way 🙂
A fantastic work, Johan!! I think it was indeed a great choise not to convert in b/w ; amazing colours here! 🙂
Happy Monday, and a great week for you :)
Thanks Andreas! You have probably found out by now that getting the colours right with long exposures is quite a challenge 🙂 have a great week as well!
Magnifique reflet !
merci beaucoup Jany 🙂
Beautiful shot!
Wonderful…
thank you and nice to meet you :)
Very beautiful!
hey thank you Davorin!
Awesome!!
many thanks for the awesome Anna! 🙂
Absolutely Spectacular!
Thank you Milena! Hope all is well with you!
Yes, it is indeed. Thank you, Johan…Have a great day!
Have a great day as well Milena !
The whole gallery is so good!
thank you!
beautiful, Johan! the colours are just great!
many thanks Mitchell. Glad you approve 🙂
… i’m caught up…. 🙂 I just went through your galleries again ;)
Haha Mitchell. Well hope seeing a lot of them for a 2nd time didn’t bore you ;)
bore me? HA… i got to see my favourite one again too… 🙂
lol. Which one is your fav?
Matterhorn. I just messaged you with a couple of questions if you have time to look at it. :)
That is quite literally a very cool sunrise 🙂 Lovely shot Johan!
glad you like it Sudip! How are things? Still too busy?
Not so busy to not stop by and admire your images Johan 🙂
that is nice to hear Sudip 🙂 Thanks again!
When the reflections are as real and superb as the reality they are reflecting, there comes the art… Lovely tones and scene, dear Johan
for real for sure Naghmeh. It is a beautiful lake. Spent quite some early mornings and late evenings there last year to enjoy it and capture it :)
You did justice to the lake as for the lovely shot you captured, Johan 🙂
thanks again Naghmeh! 🙂
The tones are fantastic, Johan!
many thanks Grant and nice to meet you!
beautiful work!
Thank you Anatoliy!
Literally cool :-)
Thanks 🙂 Think you were still sleeping when I shot this, so not so cool for you 😉
Nice colour::
glad you like it 🙂
That is gorgeous! Love the soft blues here.
hey Patrick! Thanks 🙂 Hope all is well. When will we see you in CH again?
Hi Johan! Well, I have postponed a move to the country for the foreseeable future, but I am planning to take a few days in the mountains in summer. No date yet or specific place, though. Any suggestions?
ah ok. Hope for good reasons 🙂 Well, there many beautiful places to visit here. Depends a bit on what you already have seen. The region where I took this shot is quite nice 🙂
I haven’t seen much, nothing in the Swiss Alps yet. I’ll have to do some homework first and see when I can take some time off etc.
But once I know more I’ll hit you up. Maybe we can arrange something.
Sounds like a plan ! 🙂
Awesome!
thank you !