That glittering path through a maze of darkness...

            Have you ever been lost in the middle of an ocean of darkness? Have you ever felt that everything was gone? In such a situation - real of metaphorical - every smallest hint of light would have been the most precious of gifts. Searching for the light, moving towards it... this is an istinct deeply embedded in life itself. Even the humblest unicellular organisms feature an ability to "see" light and move towards it - biologists call this phenomenon phototaxis. One always wants to find her way through the darkness - a way to resurface to the realms of light. The metaphor of light is often used to indicate the origin of something, or to convey the concept of being born (e.g. in Italian we say "venire alla luce" = "to come into the light", analogous to the English phrase "to come into the world"). And plants in the dark grow in distorted forms, striving for the feeblest light.

However, when I captured this enchanted moment I was entranced by that marvellous sky - it looked as if it was at my fingertips, effortlessly mine. But alas, I was badly wrong: nothing of value is to be taken for granted - and I realized this truth as I was post-processing this exposure bracketing by luminosity masks.

Post-processing can sometimes be a voyage through unexpected lands. This was to be one of those times. I have spent hours painting on my ever-growing pile of masked layers to sculpt the tones of this scene - a small area here, a precious detail there... Well, as I indulged in the processing of the ripples of sand left behind by the low tide, I found myself acquiring a new perspective - a lower point of view, as it is. Then and only then, suddenly, it dawned on me that that glorious sky, with those amazing clouds pierced by silky sunbeams, was not a free gift, nor an easy prize. From ground level that beautiful feast of light looked as if it was light years apart - an entirely different dimension - while I was stuck in that incomprehensible maze of shadowy ripples of sand. Trapped into a maze of valleys and crests leading from darkness to darkness.
At last I was able to find that glittering path of light leading towards the shining expanse of the sea - towards the realms of the purest light. Towards the world of the living.

I have obtained this picture by blending an exposure bracketing [-1.7/0/+1.7 EV] by luminosity masks in the Gimp (EXIF data, as usual, refer to the "normal" exposure shot), then I added some final touches with Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Taken in: Italia / Veneto / Rosolina (show map)

Taken on: June 3, 2016

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Adriatic sea

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exposure bracketing

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Sets appears in: • Rosolina sunrise • Sunrise

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Camera: Nikon D5100, f/16.0, 1/25 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5100
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	ViewNX 2.8 W
Show full info

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