PARK BENCH AT FIRST LIGHT

Saturday, the 19th, proved crisp and cold and I made my way to nearby Virmond Park, overlooking Lake Michigan.  I was hoping to catch both first light and sunrise on what was one of the first cold days of the season.  Although my initial objective was first light on a clear morning, I realized that the real subjects of this shoot were going to be the trees at the edge of the bluff and the strategically placed dark metal bench positioned for quiet contemplation of the lake . . . on a warmer day.

This first photo is basically a panoramic view of the trees posed against the lightening sky, with the bench in the lower right.

Not bad, but the shot might have been improved had the darker bank of clouds over the lake not been there.  All of these were shot with a tripod, by the way, as it was still quite dark.

The next couple of shots were closeups of the bench and the tree to its left.

Finally, here is a compromise that features both trees to the left of the bench.

I thought this last shot had the best balance of the ones that I took.

I wanted to wait for sunrise.  However, not only was it cold, but it was windy, and the windchill was hovering around zero.  So I packed up and headed home to warm up.

John