Date: March 4, 2010
Official Sunrise @: 7:49 Photograph Taken @: 7:56
Temperature: 20° Wind: None
Photographer: Ron Day Camera Used: Nikon D200
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A bleakish morning with a few snowflakes falling from dull gray clouds. As you can see from the above photo visibility is pretty limited, the distant mountains are completely hidden from view by the clouds. It certainly does not feel like spring today.
Snow in the forecast with highs in the lower 30′s and lows near 28°.
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What i would give to click my heels and be laying by the ocean listening to the waves!
..oh wait my luck ..i’d wind up in alaska laying next to a walrus!!!
~Facebook Comment~
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A Moose Boosts My Heart Rate
I woke up at 3:30 this morning, laid there awake for quite sometime listening to a couple of owls hooting to each other outside my window somewhere. Then I got to thinking about different techniques for taking pictures at night. When those thoughts kept me from going back to sleep again I decided that I might as well roll out from under the blankets.
And I did.
After fixing a fresh pot of coffee, and pouring a slug of it into a big cup, I stepped outside into the darkness, on my way to the studio.
Normally when I go outside early in the morning I stop next to the house for a moment, peering into the darkness and giving a listen or two. But this morning I didn’t do that, I just blundered along, stepping into the driveway while holding my coffee in one hand and digging in my pocket for my keys with the other. After a few steps I began hearing crunching sounds coming from my right. Big crunching sounds. Crunching sounds that a moose makes when it is running through crusty snow.
Dang!!! That’s not good.
I couldn’t see very well, it was still really dark outside, but it sure did sound like a moose was running towards me, and not too far away, either.
The thought of being run down by a moose before I’d even tasted my coffee got my adrenaline flowing real good. I made a mad dash to my studio where I quickly climbed the 4 steps to the little porch. Once there I felt safe and took a look into the darkness, giving a listen while I was at it.
Nothing. Nothing at all. Complete and utter silence.
Except for some heavy breathing on my part.
Hmmmm. That was weird! Where in the heck that moose went I just didn’t know.
I got embarrassed when I imagined the beast hiding out there somewhere, behind some bushes or a birch tree.
Giggling.
I stood listening for several minutes more, but all I heard was silence, then the hooting of the owls, once again.
Were they laughing, too?
I never did see or hear it again, but you can bet it will be a while before I step carelessly away from the house in the darkness again.
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In a previous post I mentioned that I should look at my maps to identify the mountain peak in the center of this photograph, since it appears so often in my daily sunrise pictures. Turns out that I didn’t need my maps, all I needed to do was look on the Internet. It was pretty easy.
This is Mt. Goode, situated near the head of the Knik Glacier. Mt Goode climbs to 10,449 feet (3,184.86 meters) above sea level. Mount Goode is located at latitude – longitude coordinates of N 61.327222 and W -147.983889. The nearest Alaska city is Whittier, 43 miles away. It is accessible only by smaller aircraft equipped with skis.
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I made this shot from my yard yesterday. It was taken late in the afternoon as the sun was beginning to settle on the horizon. The lighting on the snowy mountainsides is what caught my eye, it looked very beautiful and inviting to me, although I don’t think I would have really enjoyed being up there. Much too cold for me, I’m sure.
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More Photos Of Vehicle Lights In The Darkness
I spent the pre-dawn hours this morning fooling around once again with lights from my neighbors vehicles as they drove to work. This time I tried a new technique.
By attaching my tripod to the tripod collar on my 80mm-2oomm lens, and using the MC-36 remote release by Nikon, I was able to rotate my Nikon D200 during the exposures, resulting in some very interesting images.
Initially I began by rotating the camera about 90° to the left and then back again, but I found I had better results by simply rotating it 90° then ending the exposure at that point.
I’ve noted the specifics for each picture as a reference in case you’d like to try this yourself.
Each of these photos was taken at ISO 100, White Balance set to Incandescent, and shutter set to bulb. I used manual focus, set to infinity, along with manual exposure mode and spot metering.
These photos were all taken from my studio on Bayview Drive, near Wasilla, Alaska
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Time: 5:14 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 120mm – Exposure: 26 sec @ f4.5
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Time: 6:05 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 105mm – Exposure: 10.3 sec @ f6.3
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Time: 6:06 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 105mm – Exposure: 12.6 sec. @ f6.3
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Time: 6:08 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 92mm – Exposure: 10.6 sec. @ f6.3
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Time: 6:08 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 80mm – Exposure: 13.7 sec. @ f6.3
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Time: 6:16 a.m. – Lens Focal Length: 80mm – Exposure: 8.3 sec. @ f8
