November already. Time flies - or in this case zooms - by.
Camera on tripod; center the focus on something appropriate to remain fixed in the final image (the bottom portion of a tree trunk in this case); do a few test zooms to determine the limit of the focal length range that will keep extraneous (distracting) elements out of the final image; set an aperture that will give you approximately a 1 second shutter speed (to give you time to zoom while the shutter is open; HIT IT! Release the shutter and smoothly zoom in (or out).
You can try this zooming in or zooming out. I normally prefer the results from zooming in. Zooming in usually also is better because you can begin at the outer limits of what you think is the largest acceptable field of view and then come in from there with no danger of including something that you don't want at the edge of the frame. Best done when the the light isn't too "contrasty" - in this case at sunrise.
This turned a somewhat drab scene into something a bit more interesting.