Other | Carol Chapman

How to Take Fabulous Sunrise Photographs

My sunrise photos are often published or sold, matted and framed. Here are my suggestions for wonderful sunrise pictures. To begin:

Be there. This requires that you either preprogram your internal alarm to wake you up or to set the alarm clock beside your bed to wake you.

Be there before the sun breaks through the horizon. Often the best images occur before the sun breaks through the horizon . . . sometimes, long before – that means at first light, just as the horizon is turning from black to grey. That way, you can catch the many nuances of changes in color and cloud formations.

Sunrise Photography

At times, I wake up very early in the morning . . . before first light . . . with a dream telling me to wake up NOW because there will be a magnificent sunrise worth photographing.

This morning, I woke up early, but with NO dream, wondering why my internal alarm system had awoken me. Peeking through the curtains covering the window, I saw that even though it was still pretty dark outside, there was the hint of a good sunrise–a band of dark red just above the horizon and clouds over it. My best sunrise photographs have been the result of the rising sun’s interplay with dynamic clouds.

By the time I was at the beach, the sun had already popped above the horizon. However, because of the clouds, the sky looked resplendent. Coupled with crashing breakers against the shore, the sun rising through the clouds made a beautiful image.

Sunrise Photography

A foggy morning with an orange sun swathed in cloud at sunrise.

Even though I woke up really early, still, it wasn’t worth taking a photograph.

It had all the ingredients for a great photo, but no drama whatsoever. The fog was not colored by the sun. It looked murky and grey. That won’t do.

Carol Chapman —

Do you, like me, have trouble packing?

We’re getting ready for a big family reunion get together. In an email, I asked if everyone had finished their packing yet. My nephew wrote:

No worries Carol…I’v got packing down to an art. Undies, shorts, jeans,
t-shirts and maybe something decent to wear to a restaurant.
Everything a guy needs to kill the devil…

I replied:

I wish it was that easy for me.

How hot will it be for my morning walk? Can
I wear something sleeveless to help get rid of my farmer’s tan or will it be
too cool with the wind off the ocean in the morning for sleeveless? Will the
wind be off the ocean in the morning? Let’s see, the land heats up, the air
rises, the air over the cool water fills the space creating a convention
current. OK, there probably will be wind from the ocean to the land in the
morning, but when does it start? The land has to be pretty hot for the
convention current to start. When will that be? Before or after my walk?
What if the land is so cool overnight that the wind is going from the land
to the ocean in the morning.

Wait a minute, it’s August and the water should be pretty warm. Does it matter which way the wind is blowing? No, it only matters if there will be a wind especially if there’s mosquitoes. How bad will the mosquitoes be in the morning during my walk?

Best to walk after the convention current starts (back to When will it start? to decide whether or not to use insect repellent and therefore what clothes to wear that it
doesn’t matter if they get sprayed.) I guess I need sleeveless just in case
the convention current has started, tops with sleeves if it’s cooler than I
expected.

What do I have in the shorts, capris and pants department that
will complement the tops I’ve chosen to bring? For mid-day, because it will
be hot, will I just spend all of my time in the house or indoors and
therefore have no need of shorter shorts. Do I dare to wear shorter shorts?
Do I have any that aren’t the ones I wear for cleaning the house? But, if I
wear the longer shorts–that just makes my farmer’s tan worse!

What will the
other women be wearing? Smart casual, sloppy casual–I think not, totally
relaxed casual–a bit of both probably. Wow, it looks like most of my
clothes are mainly in the blue color range. I really need to brighten things
up with some red and pink. How about some yellow? Oh, I have a yellow sun
hat.

But will it fit in my suitcase. Oh, it doesn’t matter, I’m not flying.
But, will the sunhat get crushed when John loads the suitcases in the trunk? I need to make sure I put the sunhat in the car before he starts loading the
trunk.

Would a dress be too dressy for the restaurant or is everyone just
going casual? What do I have that is casual but a bit dressy for the
restaurant? If I wear the dress, will I be too cold in the restaurant if the
air conditioning is too cold? Have I remembered a long-sleeved fleece just
in case the air conditioning in the restaurant is too cold? Maybe a fleece
is overkill unless the restaurant is really cold. I should bring a lighter
long-sleeved shirt too. etc. etc. etc. Will I have room in the car if I
bring all this stuff? What can I weed out.

I should try your system: “Undies, shorts, jeans, t-shirts and maybe
something decent to wear to a restaurant.” Scary! I might forget something!

Interesting Health Web Site

I recently received an email from Lindy van Burik, co-moderator of the Edgar Cayce Forum with the following link to a very interesting online heath information by Dr. Mercola. The info is cutting edge, news-breaking and controversial, for example, that fungus is the underlying cause of cancer. Take a look at it.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/05/fungus-causing

If you receive a window saying the page you’re looking for is not there, just click on “archives.”

Carol Chapman —

Visit to Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E.

I always love visiting Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment. Their headquarters is in Virginia Beach. I had the good fortune to see a number of wonderful people there plus return the books I had borrowed from their lending library. I believe their library is the largest metaphysical library in North America. Whether it is or not, they always have so many titles I’m interested in, I find it difficult to restrict myself to their four-book limit.

Carol Chapman —

Photography Downloads and Back ups

For the last week, I’ve been downloading and backing up all the photography I took while in Montreal and Burlington, Vermont.

I also hadn’t backed up the photography I took while in British Columbia, Canada.

Today, finally, all my media cards are empty. I’m tired but happy that it’s finally all done.

I’ve been taking pictures for next year’s Edgar Cayce Calendar, Divine in Nature: with Inspirational Quotes from Edgar Cayce.

Carol Chapman —

Photo of Carol Chapman

Hi, I thought you’d like to see a picture of me:

Carol-Portrait-Nov-07_0136

About — Carol Chapman

More from Mahatma Gandhi

“I shall not bear ill toward anyone.

I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.”

Carol Chapman —

Another Great Mahatma Gandhi Quote

“I shall conquer untruth by truth.

And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”

Carol Chapman —

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