Cypress trees along the shallow shorelines of the Currituck Sound are not unique.  However, unlike the largely public beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, most soundside properties are privately owned.  Thus, the real challenge is finding the right tree in the right place!

This bald cypress tree faces directly west, making it a no-brainer for sunset.  And while I’ve certainly tried my hand at bold sunset shots, I find first light to be more advantageous to subject/story development.  With the sun rising in the east over the Atlantic Ocean (behind the scene), the little Cypress Tree receives just enough direct and ambient light to actually show some of the details in tree structure and the surrounding grasses.  At sunset, the tree naturally becomes a black silhouette (unless you do a bunch of unnatural compositing and luminosity work).  The colors in the sky during first light are also the opposite of what you would find in the evening.  At sunset, the colors are bold with deep blacks and sharp reds and oranges.  During predawn, the colors are soft, primarily pinks, cyans and blues.  A subdued and soft color palette projects a much different feeling to a lone tree surrounded by water.  Most importantly, subtle colors in the sky at sunrise help to ensure that the subject–the Cypress tree–remains the primary attention of the viewer (versus the sky and the reflections that can become competing elements at sunset).

It’s never an either/or choice:  both the bold sunset and the softer sunrise have value in presenting the complete story of a place.  I think it’s a worthwhile exercise, however, to always observe subjects in different lighting conditions.  I’ve been wrong more often than right with my own assumptions.

Camera:  Nikon D850
Lens:  Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 @ 28mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  January 11, 2021
Settings:  f14, 2.5 seconds, iso-64