Sunrise with the ducks

This past Friday I decided that I wanted to take some sunrise photos. I went to bed at a decent hour and set my alarm. I even recruited my hubby into waking me up because I kind of despise the alarm clock and ignore it more often than not. He loves waking me up and making me get out of bed. Especially on the weekends. I’m usually a big enough grump that he’d rather let me sleep in for a bit instead. But this Saturday I had real purpose! So I only ignored the alarm and grumped at him for like the first 10 minutes. Then I remembered that I was *opting* for this early early wake up call. I checked the weather and decided on wearing a coat and scarf…thank god! It was freezing out. (By the time I was finished my fingers and feet were numb, my foot was sloshy and wet, and my nose was dripping off my face. But I digress…) I grabbed my camera, some extra batteries, phone and keys. Off I went. The roads were lovely to drive on. So little traffic! I was getting happier by the moment. The intersections were quick. The path to my destination was lit by glowing pink clouds! This was going to be a great sunrise.

I arrived at the wetlands a couple miles from my house and I was the only one around. This was perfect. I parked and started off. I drive this route nearly every day to and from work. I always see a variety of birds – geese, ducks, song birds, herons, crow/ravens….. I’ve spotted a beaver or two, rescued some slow crossing turtles, and stopped for a deer crossing. I love a tiny dose of nature on my way to my computer-illuminated-day job.

Anyway, I strolled along the edge for a while. Taking a few shots of the sunrise reflecting off the water I kept thinking about how I really wanted to leave there that day with some nice bird photos. The sunrise was colorful and vivid. I’ll be posting some of those shots soon. I’d like to apply a little zing to them before they go public. I’m also brainstorming a logo-ish watermark I can add to my photos online. So I don’t want to post a bunch til I get em branded. 😉

I like this because all you can really see in that thick mass of tree-tangled-darkness are the duck’s wings. The water on them is reflecting that sunlight from the water below them. There is so much motion and stillness all at once. I felt serene when I took the photo and it transferred into the image.

Those birds wouldn’t allow me within 100 feet of them. I zoomed the best I could without losing a ton of quality.

Look for more wetlands pics to come…

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