I'm late, but I have a good excuse

I should have posted a blog about the May calendar photo back at the first of the month, however I have a good excuse.  June and I were in South Korea for the first two weeks of the month and have been busy getting back into the swing of normal day to day life since we got back a week ago.   I'm not saying we're over the jet lag of 13 hour time difference, but we are getting closer to a normal life again.

I really like the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.   After 13 days in the hustle and bustle of South Korea I can appreciate the pace of nature.   I'm more tuned to a quiet evening an a lake with no one else around except the wildlife than the big city life.   I get recharged by a scene like the one below.

This photo is unique because there appear to be two suns setting across the lake.  The top star burst is from the sun and the bottom one is from the reflection of the sun in the lake.  It is a bit strange to look at.   I could edit out the bottom star burst but then it wouldn't be what I saw on that cold evening in February.

It's easy to capture a photo with a star burst like above.   First, you will need a strong point light source.  I typicall use the sun, but will position my camera so the sun is partially obscured from view.  This makes the light source appear smaller, which will give a better star burst effect.   You also need to take your camera off auto and put it in Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual (M) mode and set the f/stop to as high a number as your lens will support.  This is typically f/22.   The combination of the small aperture (large f-stop number) and a point light source will create the star burst effect.

In an earlier version of this photo, I had done some edits to lighten the tree trunk on the right and give the effect that the sun was shining on it and showing more details than the camera could capture.   The feedback I got on that version was not possible.  People did not like that because it is not possible for the sun to light that side of the tree trunk.   I toned down that effect and didn't get any more negative comments about my post processing edits.

I pray that you will appreciate the patience of nature - slow and beautiful.