Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Different Kind of Dawn Start, Emma Again and Disappointment.

Over recent weeks I have seen some really beautiful dawns while driving to work.
Now though, dawn is late enough that I miss it, by sunrise I am too close to the city and the roads are too busy and by then I am facing west not east.

I have photographed dozens if not hundreds of sunsets over many years.
Yet I have realised I have never taken piccies of a dawn.
So a few days ago, one morning I had off, instead of sleeping in I got up at my usual time.

Not being an absolutely dedicated photographer, I headed to the nearest location I could think of where I could get an uninterrupted view of the eastern skyline.

This spot happens to be one I have posted about before, the Arthur's Creek Cemetery.

So there I was setting up my tripod and camera in the dark.

Of course I thought of the people buried there. My thoughts once again went to Emma who bought a plot next to her young husband. Yet as far as I can tell she was never buried at Arthur’s Creek.

As a writer I feel almost compelled to weave a similar story into one of my tales.

Someday.

So I stood in the dark and waited for the sunrise.
My first photo of the day.This piccie is very misleading, this was a very long exposure. So what seems a light eastern sky was in fact very dark.

But there was a problem.The dark bank of clouds in the above photo was advancing very quickly from the south.

I turned my Camera to face south where the sky was by now almost completely covered by cloud. The lights in the centre are some of Melbourne’s suburbs twinkling in the distance.

By the time the sun actually rose above the horizon...this was all I could see of the dawn colour.

So I packed up and drove home feeling somewhat disappointed.

As I drove I was given some consolation. The sky decided to relent just a little and I stopped briefly to catch this before the world was completely flooded by daylight.

11 comments:

JournoMich said...

Ah, but such beauty in a disappointment. Sometimes it is the dark that stands out, and these make for beautiful photograpsh. Oops, I mean 'piccies.' :)

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

Wendy R said...

How lovely. It seems to me that you have told the story of your dawn in pictures. And within that the poignant story if Emma,
Great post
wx

Rebecca T. said...

I love that last picture - such pretty cloud fluff - Sunrises and sunsets are my favorites.

Natasha said...

You may not have got photographs of the dawn, but you have got some fantastic photographs. The picture of the clouds marching into the frame is particularly menacing.
Dawn pictures can always happen another day.

Deb said...

Sunrise may not always be spectacular but there's always something amazing about getting up and out to greet the dawn.

Lisa said...

Gives you an appreciation for what professional photographers have to go through to get the great piccies we see.

Jenners said...

I think these kinds of shots are really hard to get ... I admire your dedication for giving it a go!!! I wouldn't get up early to photograph dawn no matter how pretty it was! : )

Heidenkind said...

The trials and tribulations of a photographer! :)

Al said...

Hi All,
I am so sorry It has taken me so long to get back to you. I feel terribly negligent. I haven’t actually fallen off the face of the world so there is no real excuse.

Hi Michele,
I like these pho… I mean piccies, otherwise I wouldn’t have shared. But I have seen some beautiful dawns recently when I didn’t have a camera…

Hi Wendy,’
I have a very visual side to me, but I love the written word. So combining the two feels great. Ah Emma, I want to know what happened to her. Someday I will even if I have to imagine a solution.

Hi Sonshine,
I’m pleased you like it. Dawn and dusk are the best aren’t they?

Hi Rayna,
I love clouds nearly as much as dawn. So I was happy, even if simultaneously disappointed.
Indeed, another day, or even another year if necessary.

Hi Deb,
I agree sunrise is always an amazing time, even if the dawn doesn’t put on a show.
I feel I understand why the birds sing a dawn chorus.

Hi Lisa,
There is so much work in setting up so many shots.
I am not nearly dedicated enough, nothing like professional about this hobby.

Hi Jenners,
There is some work in setting up shots like these.
But mostly it is about patience (and maybe a little discomfort). And I have a really active imagination so waiting is not too hard, as long as I don’t forget why I’m there in the first place. :-)

Hi Tasha,
If it were that bad I’d leave it to someone else!

Amanda said...

Oh I love the sky photos you take. I think sunrises are very hard to take.

Al said...

Hi Amanda,
I love the sky, endlessly changing, endlessly fascinating.
Well I've basically had a wash out on my one effort :)