Impressions of an autumn morning

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Impressions of an autumn morning

November 1, 2017 by Mike Powell

As the early morning light began to filter through the trees and the mist was rising, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of tranquility last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Was there any way that I could possibly capture that feeling in an image?

Many of you know that I rarely shoot landscape photos. I normally do not carry with me the kind of wide angle lens that is traditionally associated with landscape photography and instead carry a long telephoto zoom lens and a macro lens almost all of the time. The first two photos below were not cropped and were shot with the telephoto zoom lens set at 150mm, its widest setting. I have started carrying my Canon SX50 with me most of the time and this super zoom camera allowed me to get a much wider view and a greater depth of field.

I am not sure that any of these images adequately capture the feeling of the moment, but I wanted to share some of my different approaches in trying to capture the light, shadows, shapes, and colors of one early morning in the autumn.

Posted in Autumn, Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 50D, Canon SX50, fall foliage, impressions, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on November 1, 2017 at 7:59 am | Reply Dan Antion

So pretty, Mike.
on November 1, 2017 at 8:08 am | Reply shoreacres

What a lovely scene. I’d say you captured it just fine.
- on November 2, 2017 at 5:51 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks so much. It seems that it is easier for me to capture a specific subject. I am much less confident when I am seeking to capture a mood or a feeling.
on November 1, 2017 at 8:45 am | Reply takomadonna

Wow! #1rivals an Impressionistic painting.
- on November 2, 2017 at 5:50 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Donna. That was precisely the effect that I was seeking to achieve without resorting to using filters or other photographic manipulation.
on November 1, 2017 at 2:42 pm | Reply exploringcolour

I really like the shimmering colours!
- on November 2, 2017 at 5:49 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Liz. Early morning light is tough to capture, because of its relative dimness and the existence of so many shadows. I was pretty happy with the overall feel of the images, which, as I suggested in my title, are a bit impressionist rather than realist.
on November 2, 2017 at 11:29 am | Reply nliakos

These are beautiful, Mike. Thank you for sharing that tranquility with your fans.
on November 3, 2017 at 5:27 pm | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

Beautiful! I didn’t know you had much autumn color there.
- on November 3, 2017 at 7:28 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  We have patches of color that often is faded compared to New England foliage, but it is definitely there.