A Couple of Marks to Beat

Anyone else catch the moon rise this evening? Impressive to say the least here in Colorado. There was just enough moisture in the air to throw a pinkish glow beyond the shadows creeping eastward. I just had to stop by Stearn's Lake to get in a quick look and see if I could get a couple of shots before all the light was gone.
Because it was an unplanned trip I had no tripod, so for the first "Depth of Field shot I leaned into and propped the camera directly against the trunk of a tree. The branch wasn't a photogenic gem, but it does provide some foreground material to show the range of focus.


Next up, selective focus, here the branch becomes the subject, and the moon and sky are just background elements setting the evening feel. This would definitely need some selective cropping to remove the top section of the branch and the little tuft of grass.

Next came another set, I dialed up the ISO a bit and used some cattails and barbed wire for my foreground subject matter.

Functionally sound, but an expanse of ice doesn't really show off the bokeh effect very well.

Here is the same subject, now showing depth of field. I like the composition, and I like the spot, it usually has a few American Avocets hanging around in late spring. Getting it in winter was nice, but I am not sure that the background really shows any degree of focus. If Stearn's Lake has a drawback it is that its westward view towards the mountains is fairly cluttered. Oh well, now there are a few to beat.