(click on photo to enlarge)
I had the opportunity to spend some more time at the Bird Runner Refuge Sunday, this time for an overnight stay. I took the time late in the afternoon to wander around the refuge and ended up near one of the ponds as the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon. The low angle of the sun at this time of day was really making the colors glow. I had decided to limit myself to only one lens on this walk, a fixed 50mm prime lens (no zoom). I didn’t want to get too caught up in photography, I just wanted to focus on exploring the area. Normally at this time of day with this type of scene I would have reached for my ultra wide angle lens and included the sun and some sky in the photo. Since I only had the one lens with me though I wasn’t able to do that. Instead I framed this pond and tree with some color in the foreground and decided to include just a bit of the light from the sun. I wanted to create a feeling of the scene being bathed in the sunlight. I was really happy with how this turned out and this was a photo I wouldn’t probably have made if I had all my gear with me.
This weekend was a busy (but very enjoyable) one for me and I had to jump right into the week with what has turned out to be a bit of a hectic, crazy Monday with several things coming at me all at once. Like limiting myself to only one lens to help me focus on just enjoying the prairie Sunday during my walk, I’m really starting to see the benefits of limiting myself in other areas of life too and slowing down to focus on enjoying what is important. I’m not always very good at learning important life lessons, so time will tell if I learned anything from my walk Sunday. I guess the good thing is I can always go back for another walk with just my 50mm lens when I need a reminder.
Enjoy!