California Oak at Sunrise

The Oak tree is a common site in the wilds of California. They range from stately, large and tall to shrubbery depending on the environment. In the Fall they add a nice color to the landscape. Being deciduous, they do drop their leaves in the fall. What I didn't realize until I did some research to present to you here, accompanying my photo today, is that there are 20 species of Oak in California! I thought I was going to just be able to tell you what kind of oaks these are. The terrain these trees in the picture are is hilly chaparral. That narrows it down to half a dozen... They provide much needed shade and shelter for a variety of animals and plants.

Up where I was, recently, in Mendocino County, where it can be moist a fair part of the year, the big oaks seem to co-habitate with Spanish Moss. Lichen, as well, adorn the bark. The tree shapes and colors become hypnotic and before long I had racked up a fair amount of shots like this one. The leaves had not begun to bud yet which lends a whole other level of detail and interest to them as a photography subject.

Do you know how to "starburst" the sun yet? The easiest way is when you can line up the lens so the sun falls on a sharp edge in the distance. I used a tree branch here. I then crank my f-stop to as high as it can go, preferably 20 or 22. After that, adjust the iso and/or shutter speed to get a well exposed image. I also was working with a tripod which I do more than 50% of the time. It just gives me a better chance of getting a sharp image and makes me slow down! I also use a histogram in live view mode after composing the shot to make sure I do not blow out the highlights or bury the shadows. Shooting in raw this method of operation allows me to recover all color and light in post processing. It is a "miracle." As you can see I was catching this image not long after sunrise. The early morning golden hour is a grand time, albeit short.

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