gregschmidt

Solitary Sunrise

The thing I love about photography is the ability to share beauty with the rest of the world. Sometimes, that beauty presents itself to us, and sometimes, we ha...
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The thing I love about photography is the ability to share beauty with the rest of the world. Sometimes, that beauty presents itself to us, and sometimes, we have to seek it out.
Such was the case for this photo. I often times get the urge to do random photography drives - no set destination or plans of obtaining a particular photo, I just grab the camera, hop in the truck, and set out in search of something to photograph. With sunrise drawing near, and a perfect mix of clouds and clear sky, I knew the light from the sunrise playing off of the clouds would be a good show. The water in the river was unusually calm, making for a perfect reflection opportunity.
I had recently found this location, and decided to set out for it and wait for the sunrise, and see what I could manage. So, I pull up, breathe in the crisp 31-degree morning air, scramble down the rock bank to the river edge, and take a seat, waiting for the morning to begin. As I sat, I had the tranquil calmness of the river to create an almost zen-like atmosphere, squaking birds of various kinds to keep me entertained, and a creeping fog that had begun to start to form slowly working its way towards me, and the bridge.
Finally, the moment I had been waiting for arrived after almost an hour of sitting by the river bank. Ever so calmly, the sun rose from behind the distant bountains on the horizon, and filled the river with the golden glow of morning. The small clouds overhead were highlighted with the early rays, gently fading to a gradual gradient of untouched sky. While the river worked the light to reflect beautifully back up on the old train bridge, the fog had just begun to reach the far end of the bridge, shrouding it in an almost ethereal haze.

This was the moment I was waiting for. This is the very second that my lens needed to capture. Watching the sunrise unfold through the eyepiece of my camera, I was ready for this exact second, and released the shutter. Within seconds, the sun had already risen, completely changing the entire scene - this was a literal second, forever frozen in time.
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