Peter, this is a blend of a series of bracketed shots (not to be confused with HDR techniques) in order to capture both extreme highlight details as well as detail in the foreground. So yes, one of the images used had a .6 sec shutter speed (most likely the part used for the detail in the sun).
very interesting, looks good; i presume you used the full FX sensor at 12MP; can you go as wide as 16mm with the 12-24 without vignetting? please post more in this configuration, thanks
