Flash Required to view this area.

Friday, February 24, 2012

SUNRISE AT BEACH #5

Symphony Palms Sunrise, Havelock Island, India

I was very lucky to wake up early and witness a stunning sunrise during the low tide at Beach #5, also known as Govind Nagar Beach.  It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I can remember seeing.  I highly recommend the Symphony Palms resort which is as close to the beach as you can get without a tent.  There is a constant cool breeze blowing through shady palms; a nice retreat from the 80 degree temps and hot sun.  In addition, the restaurant at Symphony Palms is excellent, and serves the coldest beer in the Andamans.

Beach #5 offers stunning blue and green colors due to the shallow water (see previous posts).  During high tide it is only about five feet deep for the first 100 meters or so, most of which is exposed at low tide. The low tide reveals some excellent rock formations and sand patterns, and creates some nice reflection pools for photographing the sunrise.

I asked several locals in Port Blair where they had seen the most beautiful scenery in the Andamans, and without fail, every single person said Havelock Island.  If you're into beaches, I can't imagine any more beautiful than those on Havelock.

This photo is a single exposure taken with a circular polarizer.  On a full frame body such as my 5D a circular polarizer can create extreme light falloff in the corners of the frame, so much so that the very tips of the corners are totally black at wide focal lengths (of course this depends on your camera, focal length and the thickness of your polarizer and other filters).  I added some vignette to help it blend in without having to crop too much.

The staff at Symphony Palms recommends booking your room three months in advance in order secure a cottage close to the beach, although they are all within a three minute walk of the beach.  You can visit the Symphony Palms website here:
http://symphonypalmshavelock.com/site/the-resort.html

Photo taken Jan 9, 2012

No comments:

Post a Comment