Today, I returned to the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area where, on Friday, I was able to both get lost temporarily and blow out a tire. What a day that was! Fortunately, today went far more smoothly.
My plan was to return and get some shots of the sun as it rose over a small lake known as Gator Pond. However, it turned out to be far cloudier than I had anticipated, so I was a little disappointed that I had left home at 4:30 in the morning and driven for an hour to not get the sunrise I had hoped for.
I paced along the edge of Gator Pond cursing the clouds and wondering what to do. Then, I began to actually see the clouds. I noticed that they weren’t the typical smooth monochrome gray tone they usually are. Instead, these clouds had fantastic looking texture and contained various shades of gray, blue, white, and even pink from the sun rising behind them. They were also being reflected in the surface of the water in front of me. I quickly set up my camera and began shooting. Using my 14mm lens accentuated the texture in the clouds and emphasized the open airiness of the lake.
After a few minutes, there was a slight break in the cloud cover that allowed the sun to peek through briefly. Switching to my 24-105mm lens set at 105mm, I was able to capture this all too short display before the sun slid back behind the clouds.
Settings: Canon 5D Mk II, 14mm, 1/2 sec, f/22