I consider myself to be primarily a wildlife photographer, but sometimes I enjoy taking photos that do not include an animate subject. That was certainly the case last Saturday, when I travelled to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge just before sunrise. I have already posted a few photos of the sunrise that I took with my iPhone, but decided it was worthwhile sharing a few images captured with my DSLT.
When the sun first appears its light is so intense that it is difficult to capture a shot when staring right at it. As you can see in the first image, I had to underexpose the image to get a decent shot of the sun. For that reason, I like to take photos of portions of the early morning sky in which the sun is not in the frame, like the second image below that shows the pale orange color of the sky and some of the details of the distant trees.
The moon was almost full that morning and I managed to capture a detailed shot of it by once again underexposing the shot. If I had let the camera choose the exposure, I would have ended with with a bright while circle with no details. The moon was present throughout most of the morning, as shown in the final photo that I took later in the day. The daytime shot of the moon does not show as much contrast and detail as the shot in the dark, but I like the way that I was able to capture the blue sky and the clouds.
I am sure that I will be back to featuring wildlife subjects soon, but it was fun to play around with some different subjects and approaches for a change.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Fantastic shots, Mike. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year. x
Thanks so much, Tricia, for your supportive and encouraging words. Best wishes for a wonderful 2024.
Wonderful, Mike.
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Thanks so much, Mitzy. Happy New Year.
Wow! Great shots.
Thanks. I was quite surprised that they turned out that well, since it is a bit tricky getting good shots when the light is limited.
A pleasant surprise 🙂
You too, Mike. How do you fancy a feature on ‘Patricia’s Pen’ ? Chatting about your photography. Inspiration etc. Sharing what photos have been used for book covers, etc.
Sorry for the delay in responding. I would be delighted to be featured in “Patricia’s Pen.” How would that work? Do you send me questions and you then craft a column using my responses? As you probably have noticed, I tend to be both curious and introspective and am prone to a good deal of self-examination as I journey into photography.
Stunning!
Thanks, Molly. Happy New Year!
I love these. The first shot of the moon is amazing. It looks like you were hanging in the sky next to it when you took it. Wow.
Excellent, I’ll email you with details, providing the email address is still current. I’ll do it now and let me know if you don’t receive.
Triciax
I received your e-mail and responded, Tricia. Cheers, Mike.
Thank you, Mike. x