Morning Sky

shot at 65mm, ISO 400, 1/160th of a sec, f/5

Summarizing today's post: Sunrise photography, adjusting your camera settings manually, & appreciating the small things.

Before introducing the next topic of discussion I must pause for another moment to show you this photograph.

(You will find me doing this all the time because things simply catch my attention and get me off track...and I must share.)

One morning a couple of weeks ago I had gotten up from a good night's sleep and was fixing a pot of coffee (an absolute necessity for me) when something caught my eye out the patio window. I usually get up well before sunrise, but that morning I slept in because the workweek had taken its toll on me. 

What caught my attention, even before a drop of caffeine entered my body, was the sunrise over the trees. More specifically, it was the sun bouncing off of the clouds before it actually had shown itself. And I swear the clouds were pink. It was such a pretty sight I just had to grab my camera (of course) and start shooting.

I wanted to see if I could capture all that beauty before the color bouncing off the clouds had dissipated. Whenever you see a sight like this--and you DO notice things like this, right?--you have to take it in right that moment because it doesn't last long. The rich pink color had already started to fade during the length of time it took me to walk to the bedroom and pull my camera out of it's bag. I had to act quick. 

Using only available light here. I adjusted my camera to a sensitivity of ISO 400. Aperture wide open (as far as my lens would allow) at f/5. Then all I had left was shutter speed. I chose to underexpose by just a little at 1/160th of a second (see how dark the treetops are?) to show a richer color in the clouds. A properly exposed image would have washed out the deep pink and purple colors I was trying to show.

Beautiful.

Take a look at your surroundings today and when you find something of beauty (and there are things all around you)...pause oh-so-briefly and take it in. Life and all its clutter and hustle will be right there 10 seconds later.

Thanks for reading!

Brant

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