Sunrise in Port Angeles

Yesterday morning I rode down to the ferry terminal in Port Angeles and photographed some silhouettes as the sun rose. Gorgeous morning - well worth the 5am wake-up call.

First I did a self-portrait, setting the camera into the timer mode and cycling quickly to get into position. This took several ride-bys...

Capturing silhouettes like this is actually simple, as long as you can lock your exposure. If your camera allows you to point the camera at a particular area, press down a button to take and hold an exposure meter reading, and then recompose... you're in business. Meter off the sky, without including the sun itself and you should get a nice, rich black silhouette.

I also had fun experimenting with Bogen's Magic Arm. Bryan Peterson turned me on to this cool device a few years ago but this morning was the first time I actually tried it out. I had a blast. Mind you, these are my first attempts... I hope to capture a few more exciting images (with a dramatic, scenic background and a greater expression of motion) during the next three days of riding.

Wish me luck, if you believe in that sort of thing :)

Comments

[Kerry Drager]

Hi Jim,
Great job on the blogs ... it's been fun following along. And the silhouettes are terrific ... with some great exposure tips. I'm particularly impressed with the self-portrait ... on a bike, no less! And I know you're going to have fun with Magic Arm.
Thanks for sharing, Jim!
Kerry

[Ian]

Jim,

I really like the silouhette at Dawn photo, fab! Is there any chance of being able to use that on my site (with appropriate credit obviously)?
Thanks :-)

[Jim Miotke]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for asking. Yes, you can use the photo, as long as you include that "Photo by Jim Miotke" credit that links to BetterPhoto.com. Thanks again for asking.

[TAMS]

SUCH GREAT ANGLE...............................