Good Morning

The weather app said dense fog, but I saw the hazy moon and decided to walk out to the cropland on the ridge to try and get some pre dawn photos. Maybe I'd get lucky.

This was a bit of a struggle for me. There were so many things to look at and photograph, I could have stayed all morning. I wanted to stay until the sun came over the horizon, but duties back home sometimes dictate my time.

The walk to this part of the ridge is only a half mile. The cropland is the only part of the area this is not crowded by wild forest. I say wild, because well...it is! 

Not only did I get a look at the predawn light bouncing off the snow and tracks, I got valley fog!

Don't laugh but I did a little happy dance in the snow and then started to shoot. Since these conditions don't come around often I did a lot of guessing. 

I was enamored by the blue tint and reflections in the snow. Once on a discussion board for learning photography, I was told that snow always had to be white, no exceptions. Of course I argued about it. 
Well, since it was about 12 degrees out, I felt fine with the cold blue tint on the snow.

Anyway. My whole purpose of walking to this part of the ridge was to see that one lonely tree in the dip. My intention was to hike to the tree and shoot with the tree against the sky.

Pfft. I nixed that idea. First shot is with a 12mm lens wide open. The second shot is with the all powerful zoom as is the third shot. I had fun, I enjoyed it.  

I really struggled with the white balance and the colors bouncing off the snow. I am not afraid to admit it. 

I may try another trip down towards that tree a bit later this year. I still think it would be neat to get a solitary tree against a sunrise.

I headed back home.

Time to make the coffee and get my morning duties taken care of.  I could have happily stayed out for most of the morning. Wait, didn't I already say that?

I got hubby situated and then took Charlie out for a look see. Charlie was into finding rabbit pellets and deer pellets. We were both content.

I'm not sure, but I think this last one ended up as my favorite because I tried something very different.

Shoot at the sun with the trunk blocking it. The frost was coming down like a snowfall. 

It was more glittery in person.

So.

Good morning.

I lied. The lens isn't awful.

Sunrise, shot in "Sunrise" mode in Camera

and cropped

I just need to learn how to operate it. I purchased a Tamron 18-200mm last year for my Nikon camera. I thought the 18mm to 200mm would be the ticket. I could get wide shots and zoom-er-in shots.

I got it in November and made my first mistake with it. I tried shooting indoors at full zoom and doing long exposures.
MISTAKE! Whoops! Nothing came out like I wanted it too. I was so disgusted I simply put the lens back in the box and thought about returning it. The lens was heavy, the tripod wouldn't hold the camera still long enough. There were some other minor issues too but these were all in very low light.

I put the lens away. I did take it out to see how it would preform in the daylight and if it was useful for portraits.
It was.

However, it does seem to shine in other ways too.

Zoom into the meadow by the Owl Trees.

Another zoom to 200mm for catching the curve of the gravel road and the oaks in the sunlight.

Maidenhair ferns. Used the lens to try and do a 'sort of' macro. Nice bokeh and it worked well.

I had to go to the township recycle place and took a slight detour to see if the pair of eagles had come back.
They had. One stayed on the trees and one flew off.

Another fast zoom. Kids walking with Morris.

And then a shot of the neighbor farmer cutting his hayfield and his round bales. Our area is rolling and hilly. There is a telephone or electric line running midway through the photo which is distorted because of the focal length.

How the lens do at 18mm?

Well I took this sunrise this morning.
Cropped to take out the foreground.

And last shot. Kid silhoutte at the bus stop with the predawn colors behind them.

I think the lens does well. I just need to leave it on my camera and keep using it so I can learn to make it perform well for me.

Every lens has its 'sweet' spot especially those lenses which are not prime.
I'd love to own a professional 70-200mm Nikon pro lens. However the average price is about $2,100. I think this one will serve me well and I sure did not pay a huge price for it.