I could use a morning spent like this... choppy water or not. What do you think?

This photo was taken around this time two years ago on an early morning fishing trip on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. This used to be a favorite and regular vacation spot for us, but we haven't been there recently.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II at 80mm, 1/800 sec at f/5. ISO 400. No post production. Cape Hattaras, NC.

Why This Photo: We were out on the boat before sunrise, so as the sun came up over the horizon, I clicked of a round of photos. On the rocking boat deck, most were throw-aways, but I did bring home a couple keepers. We brought home some fish for dinner too.

What Works: The composition uses the rule of thirds with the horizon on the upper third, and the boat deck chair reaching to the bottom third. Additionally, the sun and the prominent wave hit on the right third. The warm sunrise color is a beautiful contrast to the cool blue water. The crisp focus hits right on the whitecap of the wave, and probably most surprising to me is the horizon is actually level!

What Doesn't Work: I unfortunately was at the widest focal length of this zoom lens, and I couldn't really back up, but it would have been nice to have gotten more of the boat in the shot to make it more obvious that the shot was taken from the boat - perhaps a lower angle would have worked. Also, a deeper depth of field might have been nicer - with the full sunlight into the shot and the fast shutter speed (1/800th sec), I could have used to crank up the f/stop (except I didn't even know what an f/stop was back then).

So I could use another morning like this... both to get another chance to make another photo better, and just because it would mean I was on vacation. And I could certainly use both of those things.

- Bill