Jim Babbage's goal behind the project was to find and share the beauty of a man-made and natural landscape. Jim likes to challenge himself, and in this case, there was both the challenge of waking up early enough to catch the sunrise and finding a spot in near darkness that would make for interesting compositions.

The inspiration behind Lake Ontario Dawn was twofold. I had seen the work of another local photographer and was very impressed with it. It reminded me that I didn’t have to be up north at the cottage to capture a beautiful sunrise. So I decided that I would do what I’ve done many times at the cottage; get up at 5am to go and catch the sunrise.
-Jim Babbage

While I no longer shoot professionally, for me, photography is not just a hobby, or a calling - it's also therapy. It can help me to relax like no other activity I know. When I look through that lens, I am focused on my vision, not my turmoil.My style is one of observation and emotion. I like to show not just the scene in front of me, but how that scene and my mood affect what I capture. My inspirations are Freeman Patterson, Ansel Adams and the multitude of talented photographers who share their work on Behance and Flickr.
-Jim Babbage

Never give up, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Failure can lead to great discovery and insight. Don’t just share your images, tell your story. Tell about the idea, the struggle, the obstacles and how you overcame them. Share your fears in creating your work, and how you fought past them and made something you are proud to share with others.
-Jim Babbage

For this shoot, I used Nikon D750, Nikkor 28-300mm zoom lens, tripod, Nikon WMU iPhone app for shutter release. And coffee. Lots of coffee. My current favorite lens, is my Rokinon 14mm wide angle.
-Jim Babbage

About Jim Babbage

Jim Babbage's passion to share knowledge, take photographs, and manipulate images led him to long-lasting careers in those areas as both a college professor and creative professional. Jim is the author of several books and video training titles on Adobe Fireworks, and written hundreds of articles on Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and general web and photography topics, and has spoken at Adobe MAX and D2WC. Currently, Jim is a Senior Solutions Consultant for Adobe, supporting the Canadian and American educational sales team. See more of his works on Behance or his website.