Chesapeake Bay Sunrise, Cloudscapes, Boats and More!

It's always worth getting up extra early when there's a chance to capture a sunrise!

At 5:30 a.m. on May 28 I was outside on my parents' back porch, which overlooks the Chesapeake Bay near Wicomico Church, Va.

I had my camera, actually three cameras: my Canon SX50, iPad and iPhone 7. "Just because" is the only reason for this camera over kill, I suppose.

A cup of hot instant coffee helped clear the early morning cobwebs.

At approximately 5:50 a.m., the sun started to peak out over the eastern horizon.

This would be my second sunrise shoot since March. Then, Alesia and I were in Hilton Head staying in a Marriott Hotel 10th floor beachfront room when I captured a glorious sunrise from the balcony.

Sun up then was at a more leisurely 7:30 a.m.

With my Canon SX50 "superzoom" camera, I went in as far as I could to get this image.

This photo was taken with my iPhone 7. I have not had this phone very long but definitely see better quality images from its camera than I had with my iPhone 5.

One last capture of this beautiful sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay. It would mark a wonderful Sunday of worship, fellowship, food and fun with my family.

Thank you Mom and Dad, Pete and Lynette!

This day was also special because May 28 is the birthday of my son Joseph (26 years young) and also my wonderful sister Ann.

I captured the sunrise so that evening at approximately 8:40 p.m. I took this photograph of the crescent moon.

Love the clarity of some of the craters!

The bay boating activity is always interesting to observe from my parents' backyard.

Large container ships plow the Chesapeake Bay.

Boats large and small can be seen daily, coming and going from all directions.

We were fortunate over the Memorial Day holiday to have very nice weather, so there was lots of recreational boating.

Boaters, buoys, jetties, signs, crab pot markers and even an Osprey platform indicate an active body of water meant for both business and pleasure.

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post featuring Ospreys nesting on that platform, as well as other birds I photographed in Virginia that week and weekend.

This is an activity I've not seen before on the bay.  This group was bow fishing. See my link to the proper gear needed, if this interests you.

My father says there is a certain fish that stays close to the water surface, making it the target for bow fishers.

The man at the top is the spotter.

I didn't see these guys shoot at anything during several minutes observing them.

Looks like a good time to me! I wouldn't mind giving bow fishing a go sometime.

Next, other boats and boaters at play and at work.

Men at work, checking and clearing crab pots, I suspect.  The Chesapeake Bay is known for its tasty crabs.

Jon boat coming into the marina. I initially wrote John boat, but it's really Jon.  Wow, learned something new there!

Who was this Jon anyway???

My dad used to have a large boat like this. We had some fun deep sea outings on the Adele Theresa (named for my mom).

In 2008 I produced this video that is on YouTube. The original music I put to it, Led Zeppelin's "Down By The Seaside" (perfect, right?) was pulled by the music piracy police, and I was offered some other royalty free music. But, unfortunately, the "nat sound" was also pulled, so lots of "Fish On!" yells are missing from this video. Oh well.

Water man and woman begin their day on the bay.

This boat is very similar in design to the one above, but I checked the names on the bows and they are different vessels.

I always talk about how clouds can make an average landscape photograph above average.

Here are two examples of what I mean.

In my new "Bird Photography From A to Z" book, I made sure to have a section on clouds because they can be so spectacular!

This marina dusk photo was taken with my iPhone 7.

I really like these captures! And it's good to know that my smart phone can take such quality images.

Back at the marina, this time with my Canon SLR, to see some pretty sunset coloring.

The Northern Neck of Virginia is much more than the Chesapeake Bay. It is also an agricultural region with lots of corn, soybeans and other crops.

The countryside and neighborhoods also pop with pretty flowers.

Walks with family, friends and the camera can reap fond memories and delightful images.

See my fox photos in yesterday's posting! 

This Mollusk, Va. post office may be the smallest post office I've ever seen!

It also may have the shortest Wikipedia entry I've ever seen.

My brother Pete set up this really nice family photo of all of us.

Pete has become an accomplished photographer who recently launched his own business in California where he and Lynette live.

Check out his canvas prints and other work! 

This is a lovely photo Pete took of us at the marina near our folks' house.

I returned the favor!

After church, we had a delicious brunch at the Historic Lancaster Tavern Restaurant.

With Alesia's cousins Diane (left) and Karen (third from right) and their husbands at Diane's Northern Neck home.

Below- Alesia with her cousins Diane and Karen, and Diane's daughter Liv.

Next Virginia stop:  Richmond!