A Peaceful SceneA peaceful scene at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Washington County (Photo David A. Murray)

The Refuge

Moosehorn consists of two units. The Edmunds Unit is 6,665 acres and borders the tidal waters of Cobscook Bay near Dennysville in Washington County. This unit consists of beautiful inlets and tidal marshes teeming with life. The other part of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is the Baring unit. This is located off U.S. Route 1 just southwest of Calais and covers 16,080 acres. The refuge is home to a large variety of birds and animals, but is unique among the country's other refuges with its large population of American woodcock.

The Baring Unit is where I spend most of my time in Moosehorn. I have photo-graphed bear, moose, deer, beaver, osprey, eagles, waterfowl and a variety of songbirds in this part of the refuge. Moosehorn also offers some nice opportunities for landscape photography. The image shown in this column is a reflection on Cranberry Inlet. This is usually a good spot for photographing ducks, however while looking the area over this beautiful reflection of the tree line mirrored on the inlet surface.

Metering Water

Photographing water reflections can be difficult to meter and expose properly. The common mistake is to take your meter reading from the scene only to get your pictures back underexposed (too dark). This happens because your camera's meter picks up the light reflecting off the water. The false reading indicates there is more light in the scene than actually exists, hence your meter does not allow enough light to enter your camera and the result is a dark picture. The solution is simple, don't take your meter reading from the scene. Instead, meter from something close by that is in the same light. There are many options. Metering green grass usually works well, also metering off the palm of your hand and open up one stop will work. Another option is when shooting with a telephoto lens you can zoom in and cut out the water and sky to take your reading than recompose and shoot. In either case what you meter must be in the same light as the scene you're shooting. Any of these methods will usually put you in the correct exposure ballpark.

The method I prefer is to use a gray card. What's a gray card? A photographic gray card, often a cardboard square, is gray in color and designed to yield an 18 percent reflectance value. This is how all camera metering systems are designed, to provide a pleasant middle-tone reading. Gray cards work by providing an accurate exposure reference. They can be purchased at most camera shops. To use the gray card hold it in front of your lens, in the same light as the scene you're shooting, and take your meter reading from the card. This will give you the middle-tone light value and you can use this to set the shutter speed and aperture setting. When you select the final composure for your shot the camera meter will indicate an incorrect exposure, ignore it and shoot away. Camera meters can't think. Sometimes you have to override your meter for the best results, as in this case with the reflection at Cranberry Inlet.

Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful place to explore and photograph any time of year. It offers over 50 miles of roads and trails that are closed to vehicle traffic but open for hiking, biking, snowmobiles, cross country skiing, and of course photography. For more information contact the Refuge Manager at 207-454-7161.

Good shooting!

For comments or questions: PO Box 273 Southport, ME 04576 or e-mail: dmurray588@aol .comVisit www.davidamurray.com for the Gallery, Stock Portfolio, Outdoor Writing, The Maine Country Store, and more!