ku # 1168-71 ~ early morning gifts
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 11:20AM ;)
Sunrise / birch ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Sunrise / mist ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Canoe / loon ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Shoreline / mist ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenDuring our stay on the shore of Blue Mountain Lake, the wife and I were treated to a number of spectacular sunrises. Needless to say, I made a few sunrise pictures - approximately 50 pictures to be approximate. So many that, as I post some of these pictures over the next week or so, one might come to think that I was "chasing the light".
However, if that were true, I would have had to set my alarm clock for 5:45AM, get up, make a pot of coffee, shake off some sleeping cobwebs, put on clothes, fill a coffee travel mug (with coffee), and then go outside to check out the goings on, sunrise wise, and hope for the best. But that's not at all how the pictures came to be ...
In fact, as my body's current age-related plumbing dictates, I am awaken every morning at 6-6:15 by an undeniable urge to pee. Most mornings it's just a minor annoyance inasmuch as I am able to pee, return to bed, and go back to sleep without any problem. However, last week, on at least 3 occasions, as I arose and looked out the bedroom picture window, I was confronted with some spectacular vistas and there was no chance of returning to bed.
So, instead of a well planned and orderly picture making event, I engaged in a barely-awake Chinese fire drill. At 6:15AM, Ma Nature had already raised the curtain on the picture show and, as is usually the case, she wasn't going to have an intermission just for me. My only choice was to hurry and pee (first things, first), grab whatever clothes were at hand (no time to deal with buttons or belts), grab the cameras, and head out the door with sleep in my eyes, at which point my picture making adrenaline kicked in and I was in my picture making element.
By the time the show had ended, the wife had made coffee and all was right with the world.
Reader Comments (6)
You may have been dragging but your images aren't lagging, great light on the birch tree.
Indeed, the photograph of the birch tree is perfect in every way, or so it seems after looking at it for a rather long time...
That made me smile, I suffer from exactly the same syndrome! It's good to see such images and I think that it would have been a sin not to have photographically responded to the drama of nature. After all, if you are like me, and I think you are, you will have felt a deep sense of excitement and wonder at what was happening ~ regardless of any need to make images.
What's going on here... why all the landscape pictures?
Perhaps I should have included a :-) on the last comment?
But another thought... it occurs to me that you were not "chasing the light" you were taking advantage of the light.
If you set your alarm at 4:00 AM so you can catch the sunrise from the top of Blue Mountain, then you are "chasing the light".
But if beautiful light presents itself along with a beautiful scene, then you are taking advantage of the light.
And my experience is that I feel lucky to have been there... and even better, been there with a camera.
"Chasing the light" or "taking advantage of the light": What the frick is the difference?? When I'm in Utah in about 10 days I will get up at 4:00 on some morning and drive to Canyonlands so that I can "take advantage" of the sun coming up underneath Mesa Arch. You either do it at sunrise or you don't do it at all. "Chasing the light" is just a silly cliche, anyway. Not to mention somewhat demeaning......
I don't know, Mark. Looks to me like you're currently 100% in Pretty Picture mode!