Low light photography is definitely not my forte. I've continuously struggled trying to understand the principles of ISO, f-stop (aperture), and shutter speed. Defining the terms is easy. Understanding how they work together and learning how to use them to take good pictures is a whole other matter. With the beach and full moon calling my name, I thought this evening looked like a good time to play with the camera settings some more and see what happens. So far, Mother Nature had been cooperating quite nicely. Skies were mainly clear and the temperatures mild. I headed outside around 8 PM to take some pics.

The most difficult aspect of taking night pics for me is keeping the camera still. Any movement at all makes the photo blurry.

The tables in the pool area worked well in this regard.

But even that was no guarantee for a clear picture.

I took these photos around 8 PM, meaning the bright ball in the sky is actually the nearly full moon.

Increasing the exposure allows my camera's smallish sensor to take in more light and makes the picture brighter. Unfortunately, with a long exposure comes an issue with keeping the camera still.

I headed toward the beach access.

Walking on the beach doing nothing but listening to the waves is a very effective relaxation tool for me.

I hung around the beach for more than an hour playing with the camera.

It was very windy on that evening (and would remain that way for the duration of my stay). I can see how the strong winds may cause dead branches to break off or entire dead trees near the water's edge to fall over. High tide picks up the carcasses and moves them about.

Trying to shoot just the waves and water resulted in blurry photos.

If there's a way to make the pics clear, I don't know how to do it.

The effect was quite interesting, though.

Along with the dead oak tree, I found part of a palm tree in the area as well.

Part of a dead palm tree on the beach.

I found quite a bit of debris on the beach this evening.

The I began to wonder if the distance between the camera and the tree was too great. I tried focusing on my shoes with little success. This is how I found out the tree was quite uncomfortable, by the way.

I was holding the camera when I took the above photo. The lack of clarity once again brings me back to keeping the camera still, (I have neither a steady hand nor a tripod).

I like the effect with the water in the photos above and below. Now if I could only figure out how to get the tree in focus.

I fail at this night photography thing.

The self-timer combined with using the walkway railing to keep the camera still produced a decent picture.