Mike Powell

As the early sunlight pierced the foliage at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, it created a magical world, filled with visible rays of light in the misty morning air.

The word “breathtaking” is perhaps overused, but it perfectly describes my physical reaction when I came upon this scene as I was walking a path that runs parallel to the water of Occoquan Bay. I knew that the light was coming from in front of me, so I wasn’t really expecting to take any photos until the path curved a bit and the sun was in a better position.

I marveled at the visible rays of sunlight and wondered if there was any way that I would be able to capture the incredible scene in front of me. My 150-600mm lens was affixed to my DSLR and even at 150mm, there was no way I could use it to capture the “big picture.”

Fortunately I have taken to carrying my Canon SX50 camera that has a zoom lens that goes all the way from wide angle to super zoom (an equivalent angle of view of 24-1200mm). I was able to frame the image as you see in the image below and the camera did a decent job in rendering the scene.

It is moments like this that keep me going out in the early morning, traipsing the trails at a time of the day when many folks would prefer to be sleeping.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.