Finally Fireworks

And I almost didn't get it.  The main doors of the gym I go to face east and as I left at about 7:15 am I could see gaps in the cloud and some under lighting from the rising sun.  I took the chance, headed out to the nearest git of countryside and pulled up at this bridle path.  I literally set up the camera, snapped off about 20 shots (all bracketed) and then the sun disappeared behind the clouds and this glorious warmth was gone.

Technical:  There was a 2 stop ND grad to control the sky exposure.  Despite the bracketing of shots this isn't an HDR.  I did process them into an HDR but then challenged myself to produce a similar effect from a single raw file.  I chose the middle exposure, reduced highlights, elevated shadows and blacks, and added a bit of clarity.  Finally I increased vibrance and saturation slightly and you have this image.  In many ways I like it more than the HDR.