As soon as I found out what this month’s Shoot to Serve photo assignment was going to be, I knew immediately where I would shoot it. In some respects, the location I had in mind wasn’t ideal, but there were some special, morning memories associated with the spot that I wanted to revisit. And as it turned out, the location happened to be better for the photo shoot than I had originally thought!
A Special Location
If things are displaying properly in my photo database, the following photo is the 180th photo I ever took after buying my first DSLR in early 2006.
I took it on March 30, almost exactly 19 years to the day before photographing this assignment. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it was surreal to be back at the same spot doing the same thing I have always loved to do. I have taken so many photos since that time! And I have learned so much about photography too. My equipment is completely different, now. The location didn’t feel as epic any more. But the same thrill of being out early to see the morning glory was still as fresh and real as it has always been!
Things sure had grown up over the years, though. There was hardly an open view anywhere! But the old smoke stacks, way off in the distance, were as visible today as they were 19 years ago.
But I wasn’t there to photograph the sunrise. I had some work to do!
The Results of My Morning Photo Shoot
The video shows pretty well how I went about doing things. Back and forth, and back and forth I went, over and over again, tweaking little things here and there.
This was my first shot, where the backpack is merging with the tree behind me.
At the time, looking at the photo on the camera screen, I didn’t like how small the photographer was. So I moved things around so that the two trees would frame the photo better. I like this one because of the dot of sun, peeking through the trees on the horizon!
But I didn’t like my expression and how there were those two straps dangling from my backpack.
So, I set up this shot:
That one was great.
But before heading home, I decided I wanted to get a good version of the wide angle shot again. So I changed the camera angle again and came up with this:
And here’s another version of the same thing, with only one hand up on the camera, and a little more foreground detail because it was getting so much lighter!
I really enjoyed those two little excursions. Seeing the sun with a bit of color on the first morning was a huge surprise, especially in light of the rain I encountered on the drive in. The woodcock sighting was amazing! A completely unexpected surprise. I had never seen one before, and Donald had said a few nights earlier that this was the first time he had heard one on the property. Too bad I didn’t have the camera pointed the other direction . . . you would have been able to see it too!
And of course, on that second morning, the solid, cloud-filled sky was a surprise too. But it was perfect for a photographer silhouette! So many unexpected surprises. All because I was determined to get out of bed and photograph the glory of the morning!
Now It’s Your Turn!
Where will you go to find (or set up) a human element during sunrise or the morning golden hour? What unexpected things might you discover before the rest of the world wakes up? The only way to find out is to go out and shoot The Glory of the Morning yourself!
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