I went out yesterday to get a good view of the comet, so I knew I needed to find a big horizon to the west. While I had it in the back of my mind that there might be a nice sunset in the offing, I had no idea I would see something this spectacular! This was just luck, the clouds were very messy and brooding, and threatened to choke off all light from the sun. In fact, they blocked my attempts of capturing the comet once the sun set. Just another reason to always be out and try to be prepared, no matter what the forecast predicts.

Tags:   Beach Landscape Maine New England Ocean Phippsburg Rays Sand Scenery Seascape Small Point Sunburst Sunset

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Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Tags:   Benjamin Williamson Cape Elizabeth Cold Colors Fort Williams Ice Landscape Maine Morning New England Ocean Portland Head Light Scenic Seascape Snow Sunrise Winter

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Merrymeeting Bay, Topsham, Maine

Tags:   Clouds Colors Fallen Landscape Maine Merrymeeting Bay Reflections Sky Sunrise Topsham Tree Water

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A dramatic sunrise this morning over Merrymeeting Bay

Tags:   Brilliant Clouds Colorful Colors Dramatic Intense Island Merrymeeting Bay Sky Sunrise Tree Vivid

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Don't read this if you don't want to know about how I created this image, if you want to leave the magic well alone.

The first thing I noticed about this tree was that a whole central portion is missing, evident by the stump. So obviously it has been through some trauma. It is also very striking in person, not just because of the way it's been photographed. There is even what looks like an animal path from the road where I was standing up to the tree, suggesting some special reverence on the part of nature.

The conditions when I reached the tree didn't seem ideal. The sun was hidden behind a layer of hazy clouds from an approaching cold front, and the scene was generally washed out. If I had left the camera on auto, it would have exposed the scene for the foreground, blowing out all detail in the sun and the sky, and leaving me with a drab, boring image.

I knew, however, that because of the way a camera works, if I underexposed I could capture the details in the sun and clouds and leave the tree and foreground as dark silhouttes, because the interest in the photograph was in the form of the tree and drama in the sky, anyways.

After viewing my camera's lcd screen, I could see that the sky looked pretty amazing through they camera's eyes, and whatever problems I had with color or contrast could be fixed when I got home. So I hung around the tree for about an hour as clouds moved past and over, lining up several different compositions and freezing my hands off. All the while getting to know this tree a little better.

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