Trial, Error and Moderate Success

I left off my previous post with mutterings about a tie-in with a post yet to come. This is that post..

On my drive home from the Fourth Pond Visit on Sunday, I noticed in the rearview mirror that the sun was rising directly behind me over the centre of the road.

I thought it would make a good photo opportunity, but both Monday and Tuesday didn't have a sunrise, if you know what I mean.

Wednesday looked promising, so I set out shortly after five o'clock. That would have been a little late if I hadn't known where I was going and that I just wanted to photograph the rising sun at 5:30 and not one of my more typical pre-sunrise photos.

I set up the camera and took a preliminary photo while waiting to see Ole Sol.

Unfortunately, at 5:30 there is traffic, even on a semi-rural road, and I kept having to move my camera over to the shoulder. Therefore, each subsequent  photo will have a slightly different composition. You can see the beginning of the rising in the next picture.

 The sun is really beginning to be noticeable, below.

Sol was just about getting to the perfect position over the very centre of the road, but that's when a whole procession of cars came by from both directions, and I had to scat. The sun moves quickly, so I missed the perfectly centered photo that I most wanted.

There was a problem with the above photos anyway: one that I will try to learn from should I ever try this composition again. In my attempt to emphasize the road, I used a wide angle setting, which rendered the sun rather small.

Whilst I waited for the cavalcade to pass, I re-oriented that camera to experiment with some alternate photos from the side of the road . Then, I rushed back to middle, but I still had to shoot quickly because another car was coming from behind but still a distance off (I wasn't being reckless!). With the camera now in landscape orientation, I just snapped the photo and headed off to the safety of the shoulder once again.

The above photo is a pretty decent result although the sun isn't exactly where I wanted it to be.

I may try this again on a weekend when traffic is lighter. Maybe I will get the exact photo that I want then. We shall see.

However, I am still happy enough with the last photo if that is all that I ever get in this spot. I enjoy the process of getting out there all on my lonesome and attempting to be a little bit creative, which is something that doesn't come naturally to me.