Luke Cooper, First Colour (LIGHT/SHADOW - Entries close 30 September 2026)

A 2-second exposure at dawn over Lake Mulwala on the Murray River. I wanted to capture the almost monochrome foreground and sky as the first colour of the approaching sunrise began to appear in the clouds above the horizon. The long exposure softened the water, reeds and wind-blown clouds, contrasting with the sharp, silhouetted tree stumps rising from the lake. I used a Canon R7 with a Sigma 18–50mm lens at f/16 on a tripod. Processing was limited to fine adjustments to colour, white balance and graduated density, together with lens correction.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.