I often drive by this path cut through some pine trees that I've always wanted to stop and try to capture. I got up early today and arrived just as the sun was starting to come up - with an extra large coffee to keep me warm. Since it was quite dark, a long exposure was necessary and a tripod a must. I also used a bubble level that slides into the hot shoe to ensure that the camera was level (a very useful tool when you have a horizon to worry about).

When I was walking to this spot, I came upon two grouse that didn't stick around to watch me take pictures. There were also several different groups of Canada Geese that flew overhead while I was there, honking their way south for the winter. The one thing I love about nature photography is the nature!

I took two main images of the location. A landscape (horizontal) with the path centred in the frame to give a tunnel effect of the trees lining the path and a portrait (vertical). For the portrait, I wanted to have something in the foreground and settled for mushrooms that were at the side of the trail.

Here is the landscape version:


17-40mm lens @ 40mm, f22, 120 seconds, ISO 100

And here is the portrait:


17-40mm lens @ 17mm, f22, 90 seconds, ISO 100

Finally, a closeup of the mushrooms in the portrait image.

70-200mm @ 155mm, f22, 45 seconds

Enjoy!

Rob