Portland Headlight sunrise- C&C welcome & appreciated

It's an O.K. shot, but there are a number of things I see that is wrong with it, but you want honesty I guess, so here's what I see that shows that you 'might not be' ready for what you have planned, I say this with respect too, I'm not slamming you at all, but just trying to help...
This is more along the lines of a 'snapshot' than a 'photograph', the difference being a photograph is planned in advance, a snapshot isn't just that, quickly snapped to record an picture.
I will say that you have the crop down pretty well.

First, the horizon's not level, that shows that you might not be paying enough attention to details, before or after the shot.

The sunset beams are not that interesting, it is different, and it's O.K., but not spectacular in my opinion.

I don't know how much you processed this in Photoshop, (or other) but it's really, really dark, so much so that it's lost all of the lighthouse's details, and that's not a good thing.
There has to be a point of interest somewhere, even in a sunset or sunrise.
Even if you were going for a silhouette, that is lost here, so it's a muddy looking shot with nothing to say for itself.

You may have plans on trying to make money from your camera, and that is a good thing, it can be done, as is evident in this forum, but honestly, you really have a ways to go, I feel.
It all depends on what you plan on doing, and honestly, maybe you have more shots that are better, but you chose this one to show, so I look at it as 'your best'.
This is not "exceptional" by any means, and I can't think of any other way to say that, I remember my first exceptional shots when I first started, I can't bear to look at them anymore.
Back then, I thought they were pretty good, but as I grew in photography, I also learned by looking, reading, and practicing what I absorbed.
My advice is to 'really' look at this forum, or other forums, see what others say about shots that they think are "exceptional", learn from that, don't judge your shots by yourself, or family, you won't get a 'real' critique if you do.
Family and friends tend to either say it because they love you, or they don't know, usually, but strangers will tell you what you 'need' to hear, and hopefully with tact so it will help, not hinder...

I have been an 'amateur' photographer for many years, "amateur" is the key word, I am O.K., but my family and friends are always blown away by my shots, but I know from comparing mine to others where I stand.
I have sold shots, but I am still amateur, so just because I have, that doesn't make me 'great', and I'm O.K. with that, I do know where I stand though, and I think that is really important to know.

I hope that you take this in the way it was intended, I sure don't want to come across as a know-it-all, but you asked, and I wanted to let you know that you aren't the first that got as camera and thought their shots were really good.

Keep practicing, read, and LOOK at what others shoot, then try your hand at what they do if possible, read the EXIFs (search Google for "exif") on the photos that you see here, and if you will learn a lot.
Ask questions, most people here are usually willing to answer your questions, but be clear in what you ask to make it easier for them to answer.

Good luck, and this is only my personal opinion, I could be completely wrong, maybe someone else will come behind me and prove me wrong.

Randy

An excellent reply recrisp, it's not easy to tell someone what you just did, but I think you did it with great taste and balance. I too have thought many a picture i took was breathtaking, and so did friends. it wasn't until i posted here that i got serious and beneficial feedback. I hope The original poster sees your post in a constructive way.

Thank you, it's not easy to get that point across tactfully sometimes, and I hope it works, and I appreciate you're saying that, it makes me feel better.
Hopefully the OP will feel the same.

Randy

A photograph may be planned in advance, but there are certain elements that are time sensitive in manner, weather and cloud formations among them. I personally don't know of any way to know how thick the cloud cover would be in the morning, you work with what you get and if necessary, return until you get what you like. Can I ask you, how would you have gotten any more definition to the land and the lighthouse than I was able to with my equipment (if you're wondering what that equipment is, my signature is accurate)? I can't recall how underexposed the image was, but it was to compensate for the sun. I don't yet have experience with filters, so if you believe they would have helped, then please tell me how. I planned out where I was going to take this shot to get the most dramatic composition. Most photographers shoot on the opposite side of the lighthouse, but I liked this composition better. I waited twenty minutes for the light to begin illuminating the peninsula. I checked the horizon in Photoshop, and found it to be a half a degree off by throwing up the grid lines and checking against the ocean. And it wasn't necessary for me to Google EXIF, as it is a term I am quite familiar with, as evidenced by the caption, copyright and keywording information embedded in the shot. I am very certain that there is no one on these boards who doesn't remember a time in their photographic journey where they didn't make the same mistakes and errors in judgement that I seem to have made in this instance, partially as evidenced by the statement you posted where you wrote that the images you once thought to be exceptional are now unbearable for you. Again, I thank you for pointing out the horizon, as I have gone back and corrected it, and I will go back to the original JPEG and see if I can work the levels in a manner which maintains more of the image through the lighthouse and peninsula. One of my reasons for processing it in that manner was to make the light from the lighthouse more of the focal point to the right side of the image, a complement to the sun itself. I have struggled all day with whether or not to respond to this post, and ultimately to the wording of it. I imagine that the majority of the boards will feel that all I have done is lashed out at you for daring to critique, and I hope that I have illustrated that it's not the case. I am not a professional, but neither am I some person who just picked up a digital camera for the first time. I also did not state that I believed this to be my "best image", but I did believe it to be one of the most marketable and appealing to the general public. Since it appears to be far from exceptional, I will simply store it in the archives and attempt to improve on it the next time out. But, I believe that ten years from now, I'll still be able to bear to look at this photograph.

I agree with you on the planning part, weather and clouds do present some problems...
None of us are guaranteed good weather, and we make the best of the situation, plus, watch the weather, but that part isn't guaranteed either.

First, the sun will make a silhouette situation out of most things if underexposed, over exposing is the only way to make the details in the terrain to come out, that, and taking more than one shot and using one for the sky, and the other for the terrain, also, you could get a (pretty pricey) GND (graduated neutral density) filter, that will allow you to take longer exposures of whichever you feel is needing it, but keeping the other intact.
I do realize that by you wanting to focus on the sun, rather than the terrain, you chose to shoot this the way you saw it, and that is up to you, the photographer, but you did ask for critiques, and that's what I saw.
Personally, I am not familiar with your equipment, so I can't help you out in specifics about it, but I would think that it could all be done, and, if you don't have the threads on your lens for a filter, I am pretty sure that they make an adapter for that, I know they do for my wife's point & shoot, but I haven't gotten her one, she's not into it that much, yet.
One of the things that is a good thing to always do is, bracket your shots, you never know what you'll get when you do, sometimes we envision a shot and it actually looks better than we imagined later, so, you may have, but you didn't mention that, so I assumed, that's all I could do with what you told us.

This is when all of the planning is done, if I were going to drive to a place and shoot, I would have ideas in my head as to what I want to get, and I might, and probably would be surprised, either good or bad, but I am planning...
If I waited for 20 minutes, I would level the camera with my tripod, and if I didn't have a tripod, it would definitely be on my mind, and if not, it'd be on my mind afterwards, and I'd correct it in Photoshop.
During this time, I would take many shots using bracketing, and taking the best out of the bunch, that's just how I'd do it.

I checked the horizon in Photoshop, and found it to be a half a degree off by throwing up the grid lines and checking against the ocean.

Well, honestly, it's off for me, the horizon's off more than that, I didn't open it in Photoshop, I just scrolled the image up to the top of my browser's window to where I can compare it, it's definitely level, and when I compare it to your horizon, it shows to be off, for me anyway, maybe I'm crazy.

And it wasn't necessary for me to Google EXIF, as it is a term I am quite familiar with, as evidenced by the caption, copyright and keywording information embedded in the shot. I am very certain that there is no one on these boards who doesn't remember a time in their photographic journey where they didn't make the same mistakes and errors in judgement that I seem to have made in this instance, partially as evidenced by the statement you posted where you wrote that the images you once thought to be exceptional are now unbearable for you.

Not knowing your level of expertise, I only said to "Google EXIF" and other things that were mentioned because I'd have to write something to the effect of, "Not knowing your level of expertise" over again, so since you didn't mention your level of expertise, I assumed from what I was reading, and what I saw, it was left wide open, so assuming is about all I could do.
Honestly, I didn't look at your EXIF, I see now that you have stuff in there that was added, but for me, I saw what I needed to without having to look at the EXIF, to me, my assumption was that this was more of a snapshot, and this wouldn't help me out in what I was trying to say.
I saw that you have it underexposed and that was all I needed at the time.
Your aperture should be at least half of what it was, that would introduce more light, but still, I'd still bracket, because you will get a variety of shots that will look completely different than that last, especially when it concerns the sun, or moon.
Maybe it could be worded differently, but I was trying to be tactful and helpful, maybe it didn't come across that way to you.
You're right, nobody's born a famous photographer, and we all grow, listen, and learn at different rates, but we all do the same thing, in the beginning.
As far as the part about stuff being unbearable, I wasn't referring to your shot, or the way you are, I was referring to me and my viewing on my shots, back when I first picked up a camera I wasn't very good, I was average, but each shot made me see that, so I would strive to be better in my next, and this was way before the internet, it was back in the late 70's.
That information about "family and friends" though is the best information anyone could even give a person, and no knowing the expertise that person has is judged by what is written and seen, if it's not given.
My shots are not really unbearable, but I cringe a little inside when I see 'em, I am not proud of them, and I don't show them to anyone, they were a learning experience for me personally, not anyone else.
Creativity is hard to force, it's either there, or it's not, in time, most all learn from out previous shots, and from those, we tend to do what we know. After a while, creativity can show in our shots even if we're not even trying, it becomes second nature, we get the "photographer's eye" for a good shot.

The horizon's one of the first things I think that people see when they view a landscape photograph, from what I see on here, and based on what I see.
I am not sure if you meant that you fixed the horizon and put it online, or just fixed it and didn't put it online, but for me, it's still not straight, I'm just saying, but it's still the same as far as what I see when I look at it.
Really, I have no idea if you can go back and make the shot any better, the detail's possibly missing, and I say that because my wife has a SX1 IS, it is not very good at all in low light, not at all, it has so much noise that I was just surprised, that's all, but it shoots RAW, and yours doesn't have RAW, so saving it might not be an option.
I'm not saying don't try, I sure would, but sometimes even in RAW a low light shot isn't worth the effort, at least for me, usually, I shoot so many of them (and bracket) that I have something that I can use.
Maybe what you saw with your eyes, and what your camera saw, was two different things, because I can visualize myself being there, seeing the light on the edge of the rocks, the lighthouse, and seeing the waves glistening and thinking that what I see will be transmitted to the card in my camera, but it doesn't always work that way, for me.
Like I mentioned about my wife's camera, low-light situations aren't it's forte', and I can only imagine that yours is similar, since they are similar cameras, and 'what you see' is sometimes not 'what you get', I know that her camera's screen shows a LOT better shot than what is going to come out of the thing, at least from what I have seen, and I haven't used it too much due to it's a new one, but it is bright and pretty on the screen.
Sometimes larger images will show more of the details, and we could 'feel' the shot more...
Levels in Photoshop is something you could try, although Levels can kind'a tear up an image, I don't what version you have, but I would check into using the Shadows and Highlights if you go to Image/Adjustments/Shad​ow/Highlights, that may help some, I have CS2, so yours may vary.
Every time you save a .jpeg it loses valuable information, so it may degrade as you go along, not unless you have it as a .psd, that will help it keep it's integrity, just in case you aren't aware.

Well, that to me suggests that you did take some offense to what I said, I did mention twice that I was trying to help, and be tactful, critiques are a dime a dozen, but someone that takes the time to genuinely help is not, I can always do what probably happened in your case, just pass it up, nobody was responding, and I thought that was not going to help you, so I felt I should at least open up the way for someone else to come behind me, maybe they would see I was completely wrong.
After any critique of any shot, the least a person can do is to respond to it, if not, they kind'a blow it for the next guy that actually wants an honest critique, if you'll notice, as of now, you have 159 views, so far, I am the only one that tried to help you, so "struggling" is an odd answer, especially when you asked for a critique.
Don't get me wrong, a negative anything to anyone is not a joyful event, but had you not had "C&C welcome and appreciated" in your heading, I wouldn't have responded at all, like the rest, I honestly told you as tactfully as I could what I saw in order for you to hopefully learn something from it, or open up a discussion on it, and maybe not think that this is "exceptional", because if you did think that, you need to start seeing your stuff from another perspective.
That probably sounds like I was attacking you, and I promise, I am not at all, but that is the bare truth, at least the way I see it, I'd hate to think that because someone didn't tell you what they saw caused you to go out and think you were better than you actually are, and try hard at trying to sell your stuff in the world, the world's harsh, but it's even worse that that if a person has their expectations set higher than what they should be.
I have seen critiques that make me feel embarrassed, people can be very cold, and short too, some just say, "That looks bad, do it again!", I could've done that, but like now, I am taking time out of my day to hopefully help, but I could've been a real jerk too, and just unloaded on you, but take a look at any of my posts, you'll see I am always helpful and friendly, at no time here have I been a jerk, or negative in a way that attacks anyone.
I've been a member of forums for 15 years, I've been the same then as I am now, I am a helper type person, there's nothing to gain from that, I can tell you, I can't tell you the amount of times I have been cussed out for the slightest things, like offering to help post an image, or going out of my way to help in another way, but there are all kinds out there, and so far, I still try my best to help people that ask, if I can.
So maybe you didn't mean what you said when you say that you "struggled" to answer your own plea for someone's help, I don't know, but that to me sounded really odd, the struggling I can understand, but the, "whether or not" part, I can't...
From what I read in what you posted in the original post, and from what I saw, I only had to assume that you were new at photography, I have no way of knowing what level you are at if you didn't post other shots or a link to some that could be judged by others, so personally I went with what I felt from what I saw.
"Exceptional" to me suggests that someone thinks highly of whatever it is they are referring to, and in this case, your photograph, so if this shot was your latest, one would probably most times surmise that this is the "best", especially with the word, "exceptional" attached to it, I would think that would be a normal assumption from anyone.
You line of, "attempt to improve" is the best thing I have heard you say, that you will look at this as a stepping stone and go from there.
I am glad that you will look back on this shot and be able to bear it, I was only saying that I can't, I learned from my bad stuff a long time ago, looking at them now doesn't help me learn anything, with the exception of where I have been, and how far I have come, but it's still not something I am proud of visually, and for me, I'm not proud, or ashamed of them.
When I said, "bear", I meant, when I compared my stuff now, to those shots then, I don't like what I see, most times, I like my newest shot, then later, I don't, that is something that makes me strive to be even better.

I hope that you see what I mean by all of this, I can only ask you to see that I don't mean any negative stuff in this, but I am firm in my beliefs, so how you see it is how you see it, I can't make you understand how I mean this, I can only hope you do.

Randy

Thank you for taking time to expand on your original thoughts. Both of us made assumptions that I think we can agree, upon further expansion, were inaccurate. I do appreciate you taking time out to address each area of my response, because it does prove to me what you said about genuinely wanting to help. I apologize for taking offense at your assumption of my level of experience with my photography, as well as the statement that this photo was just a snapshot. The tripod that I use is an inexpensive one (and about twenty years old), so I don't trust the level anymore. I was also shooting from uneven terrain, which makes it trickier. I wish that I were able to upgrade to a camera with better low light capabilities and RAW, because those are two of the areas that frustrate me with my current equipment. I genuinely felt that my best effort to get as much detail as possible in the shot was to have my aperature at F8. With the right camera and lens combo, it would have been appropriate. I did try to bracket (took 27 pictures). I may have overprocessed using the levels adjustment. Thank you for mentioning the degradation of the JPEG image, I do have it saved as a PSD. I did not post the adjusted image. I may post the adjustements, but my work load is too heavy the next few days. I hope to return to a similar sky this coming wednesday, because there is supposed to be moderate cloud cover according to the extended forecast.
Again, thank you for explaining where you were coming from and the assumptions you were forced to make independently of the picture. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to help me revisit this under similar circumstances and come away with an improved shot.

Dave

This thread it seems to me is a classic example of the benefits of this forum.

Trust me, it's a lot better than just OK.....and as far as the horizon being off a blonde hair, Big Deal, easily fixed !

The only critisism I might offer is that you have a grand composition lurking somewhere in the darkness. I don't think this is a sunrise photo, rather it's a shot of a lighthouse at sunrise, but the dark area obscures what I believe to be the logical visual center of gravity, i.e. the lighthouse.

I have taken the liberty of editing your OP to illustrate what I mean. I also slightly cropped the left side.

There's a lot of good in your photograph. Please don't get discouraged.

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I like this version better. I think the important thing is that the OP has established this spot as a "money spot". Keep this spot in mind next time you think the sky will be nice and have no other locations that are better. Keep going back to this location, knowing what you know now, and you'll find yourself with a more desirable photo.

It's very common practice for photogs to go back to the same location over and over again. I once waited a month and a half for a couple variables to match up. I needed a very high tide and an exceptional sunset. I check the tide reports and surfcams daily, etc. Just details like this will make your shot much better. Some say that you have to put in as much time in the setup as you do in the actual photo. And this is what recrisp is referring to in differentiating from a snapshot to a photograph. You've already done the setup so don't disregard this key aspect.

I personally love Galen Rowell's work and philosophy. Reading his books and realizing how pedantic he took his craft taught me what it takes to be a professional. He would go to the same spot in different seasons, for many years; what a dedicated nut. I am no where near this nor would I ever claim to be but it's important to know where the bar is set to ever reach it.

Galen's website.
http://www.mountainlig​ht.com/

engine3photo wrote in post #9507696
Thank you for taking time to expand on your original thoughts. Both of us made assumptions that I think we can agree, upon further expansion, were inaccurate. I do appreciate you taking time out to address each area of my response, because it does prove to me what you said about genuinely wanting to help. I apologize for taking offense at your assumption of my level of experience with my photography, as well as the statement that this photo was just a snapshot. The tripod that I use is an inexpensive one (and about twenty years old), so I don't trust the level anymore. I was also shooting from uneven terrain, which makes it trickier. I wish that I were able to upgrade to a camera with better low light capabilities and RAW, because those are two of the areas that frustrate me with my current equipment. I genuinely felt that my best effort to get as much detail as possible in the shot was to have my aperature at F8. With the right camera and lens combo, it would have been appropriate. I did try to bracket (took 27 pictures). I may have overprocessed using the levels adjustment. Thank you for mentioning the degradation of the JPEG image, I do have it saved as a PSD. I did not post the adjusted image. I may post the adjustements, but my work load is too heavy the next few days. I hope to return to a similar sky this coming wednesday, because there is supposed to be moderate cloud cover according to the extended forecast.
Again, thank you for explaining where you were coming from and the assumptions you were forced to make independently of the picture. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to help me revisit this under similar circumstances and come away with an improved shot.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for understanding what I was getting at...
As I am sure you have noticed, others have now chimed in with their thoughts, now it can be discussed with more views, and that will only help.
I will say, I LOVE Canon's cameras, but I am not 100% sold on my wife's SX1 IS yet, true, I haven't tried it out enough to really give a good review of it, but first impressions is that it lacks in some areas, but excels in others. (Like the Focusing, I wish my XSi had that, (soon to be a 7D, I hope) this camera of hers is more along the lines of what I think a 7D is like, that's just a guess though, I've never used one, it also has a great depth of field in it too, which is good for some things, like some portraiture, and not in others, such as birds, etc.)
Like what "MadMacks" said, it's a money shot, you do have a million places I would imagine up there that I'd love to take photographs of, we have our own 'stuff' down here in Texas that is different maybe for someone that hasn't seen it, but I have, and I could go crazy up there taking shots of stuff like what your shot depicts.
You know, I never really said the (hopefully) obvious to you, like "John Z." said, "Don't get discouraged", that was my whole point in what I was trying to say really, is, don't take what you see in front of you as gospel, but work at it until you get there, and don't get discouraged... heheh
Had I had my wife's camera in that particular spot you were in, maybe there wouldn't be a thing I could do either about the shot, the noise it has is just something that is either inherent in those cameras, or I need to learn how to use it.
Really, I hope that you do return to that place and try again, and I hope that you post it,at least you can't say you didn't try to redo it, and maybe it'll be a better sunrise/sunset then too.

Again, I'm glad that you know I wasn't trying to get you, I was just saying stuff I felt, and that is what photography is all about.

Thanks to all that also understood what this is about, I know I appreciate it.

Randy

madmacks wrote in post #9511642
I like this version better. I think the important thing is that the OP has established this spot as a "money spot". Keep this spot in mind next time you think the sky will be nice and have no other locations that are better. Keep going back to this location, knowing what you know now, and you'll find yourself with a more desirable photo.

It's very common practice for photogs to go back to the same location over and over again. I once waited a month and a half for a couple variables to match up. I needed a very high tide and an exceptional sunset. I check the tide reports and surfcams daily, etc. Just details like this will make your shot much better. Some say that you have to put in as much time in the setup as you do in the actual photo. And this is what recrisp is referring to in differentiating from a snapshot to a photograph. You've already done the setup so don't disregard this key aspect.

I personally love Galen Rowell's work and philosophy. Reading his books and realizing how pedantic he took his craft taught me what it takes to be a professional. He would go to the same spot in different seasons, for many years; what a dedicated nut. I am no where near this nor would I ever claim to be but it's important to know where the bar is set to ever reach it.

Galen's website.
http://www.mountainlig​ht.com/

Thanks for the feedback MadMacks. I too pay attention to the tidal charts, surf reports and solar/lunar timing. In fact, this is another of my photographs from the same area, this one of Ram Island light, which is in significant neglect due to its isolated location.

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recrisp wrote in post #9512037

Dave,

Thanks for understanding what I was getting at...
As I am sure you have noticed, others have now chimed in with their thoughts, now it can be discussed with more views, and that will only help.
I will say, I LOVE Canon's cameras, but I am not 100% sold on my wife's SX1 IS yet, true, I haven't tried it out enough to really give a good review of it, but first impressions is that it lacks in some areas, but excels in others. (Like the Focusing, I wish my XSi had that, (soon to be a 7D, I hope) this camera of hers is more along the lines of what I think a 7D is like, that's just a guess though, I've never used one, it also has a great depth of field in it too, which is good for some things, like some portraiture, and not in others, such as birds, etc.)
Like what "MadMacks" said, it's a money shot, you do have a million places I would imagine up there that I'd love to take photographs of, we have our own 'stuff' down here in Texas that is different maybe for someone that hasn't seen it, but I have, and I could go crazy up there taking shots of stuff like what your shot depicts.
You know, I never really said the (hopefully) obvious to you, like "John Z." said, "Don't get discouraged", that was my whole point in what I was trying to say really, is, don't take what you see in front of you as gospel, but work at it until you get there, and don't get discouraged... heheh
Had I had my wife's camera in that particular spot you were in, maybe there wouldn't be a thing I could do either about the shot, the noise it has is just something that is either inherent in those cameras, or I need to learn how to use it.
Really, I hope that you do return to that place and try again, and I hope that you post it,at least you can't say you didn't try to redo it, and maybe it'll be a better sunrise/sunset then too.

Again, I'm glad that you know I wasn't trying to get you, I was just saying stuff I felt, and that is what photography is all about.

Thanks to all that also understood what this is about, I know I appreciate it.

Randy

Randy,
Thanks for responding again. Luckily for me, I haven't gotten tired of any of the locations in around my home. Most of what I shoot is within a half hour of home, and there tends to be so much variation with the sky that it's often like going back to a new place. I have lived in Maine 35 years, but my photographic journey really began about 3 years ago, hence my still using a PowerShot. Would love to have John's setup, the 5d mark 2, or what you are looking at, the 7D, but they aren't in the budget right now. Heck, I'd settle for a 30 or 40d with good glass! I hope that as time goes on, you'll see better efforts from me and come to appreciate the place I call home. I genuinely enjoy living up here. I'm less than ten minutes away from a salt water marsh that regularly has a strong variety of Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, Heron and Egrets. The Powershot isn't usually up to that challenge though, just not fast enough. I also like to shoot the local minor league hockey team, the Portland Pirates. I even had a tryout as the back up photog for one night, but again, the camera isn't quite up to the speed of the game, and the lack of a zoom ring burnt me on a player's first professional goal, so I thanked them for the opportunity, but advised them I couldn't take the position until I upgraded my equipment, at which time, I will have another try at it. Check this thread this weekend for another shot of the sunrise and I'll make every effort to have something that you may even post "book worthy" for (or at least print, frame, hang).

John Z. Goriup wrote in post #9511402
Trust me, it's a lot better than just OK.....and as far as the horizon being off a blonde hair, Big Deal, easily fixed !

The only critisism I might offer is that you have a grand composition lurking somewhere in the darkness. I don't think this is a sunrise photo, rather it's a shot of a lighthouse at sunrise, but the dark area obscures what I believe to be the logical visual center of gravity, i.e. the lighthouse.

I have taken the liberty of editing your OP to illustrate what I mean. I also slightly cropped the left side.

There's a lot of good in your photograph. Please don't get discouraged.

Thank you for the edit, John. The theme was more or less as you said it was, though without the sunrise, there's not as much visual impact.
I'll be honest, I wish I had your 5d for that shot. I tried to win one from Canon last year in their photography in the parks contest (maybe this year). It's got tremendous abilities (as well it should) compared to mine. The only downside I see to the edit is it shows much more noise, which is the problem with getting a quality exposure at sunrise with this camera, you get a lot of noise in the shadows.
Don't worry, I won't get discouraged. It was more the stress of this past week and misunderstanding what Randy was trying to say that brought me to my original response.

I think John Z. was right on in saying you had a good image hidden in the dark. A better camera might have helped, but getting the exposure right is important regardless. Lucky you live in a great area for these shots. I've only seen Portland Headlight once, in mid-day.