Grace on blacktop

Grace on Strasen Lane
Photograph by Tom Atwood

To create a photograph like this, several things have to happen. (First of all, a disclaimer: this photo has a lot of makeup on. More on that in a moment.) You have to decide where to take the picture. I chose this spot on a dead end road (Strasen Lane) largely because of the beautiful tree, and because I knew the sun rose behind it. You need a graceful person (Joselyn Simms), one who is able to look like this when you suggest that she "do a dance pose." You also need someone willing to get up early on a Saturday morning to create a photograph like this. Then you need a sunrise, and after that, everything else seems to fall into place. In processing this digital image, saturation, vividness and clarity were added, giving the photo a slightly unreal appearance, adding to the natural drama of grace on blacktop at sunrise.

Shutter: 1/160; Aperture: f/6.3; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm