Benwood Meadow in Christmas Valley (stop 1 on the map) dawned today at 24º. that’s plenty cold enough to put ice crystals on all the grasses. It’s difficult to tell in this photo but the entire meadow was shimmering like diamonds for about 15 minutes. As soon as the air warmed up everything became water drops. with a narrow window of opportunity, you need to shoot quickly. Kneepads help on the wet ground. This photo was made on October 27, 2010 with a Canon 24-105mm zoom lens set at 28mm on a Canon 5D MkII full frame sensor camera. The exposure was 1/90 sec. at f-13 using ISO 800 and a polarizing filter. For information on exposure, lighting, filters and composition, please check our Tips and Techniques section.