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It Brings Me To My Knees

Over the years, sunrise has become my favorite time of the day.  I remember back to the first time that I really, REALLY, experienced a sunrise. It was some years ago just outside the little town of Escalante in Southern Utah.

I had the good fortune to be able to witness these sunrises every morning across the street from the house where we were staying. Awakening in the pre-dawn hours, quietly making a cup of coffee (some might argue with the “quietly” part), I would slip out the front door and cross the street to the edge of the open expanse that lay beyond.  Placing my coffee cup on a fencepost, my camera on the tripod, I would stand in darkness waiting for the first light to makes its appearance.

Glowing In Brilliant Saturated Colors

It is the evolution from the darkness when there is very little you can see, to the beginning of twilight as forms begin to emerge and birds begin their songs, followed by the gradual imperceptible transition of the light, right up to the moment when the first beams touch the very tops of mountains and mesas, then down lighting the tops of trees, and finally washing over shrubs and grass. By now the whole landscape seems to be glowing in brilliant saturated colors.  And then it is over, much too soon.  But knowing there will be another opportunity at sunset and yet another the next morning fills me with excitement.

From the very beginning in the relative darkness all the way to when the sun is fully up and the colors have become less intense, I am taking images.  In the early years I would experiment during these shoots with different settings to see the different effects I would get.  Now I have pretty much developed a routine and know the basic settings I will shoot with, varying them somewhat depending on the light and the subject.



Invariably these morning sunrises bring me to my knees.  They are so beautiful, and each sunrise presents differently from all the ones before it.  They fill me with such joy that I often catch myself laughing and talking out loud in words of praise.  I am so blessed and full of gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to be present, to witness, and to know.









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