I woke up this morning about 5:45. A little early for me but not unusual. As I lay in bed listening to the furnace cranking out some welcome BTUs, I started hearing this voice. A voice that sounded hauntingly similar to the voice in a podcast I listen to. This voice was saying, “ya know, this might just be one of those mornings where you’ll be glad you went out to make photographs.”
I reluctantly crawled out from under the covers, wandered down the hall to my computer, where the Weather Service told me that it was 25 degrees. Ugh. I almost got back into bed. Reasoning that 25 degrees wasn’t any colder than Fort Collins, and remembering that the UP of Michigan is even colder, I resisted and got up.
Although I got rid of my down parka and Sorel boots when we left Ohio 26 years ago, I thankfully held on to some long underwear and wool socks, and I knew where to find them! So I got out my stuff, gathered my gear and headed out.
I arrived at my newly-found sunrise spot at right about 6:30, an hour before sunrise and my preferred time to start taking morning photos. The best color in the morning often happens long before anyone else has their camera ready, just like in the evenings the best color happens while most everyone has packed up and is heading off to dinner.
It was pretty dark when I got there, and the parking lot was empty except for one car. The sky was clear with plenty of stars, or as many as we can usually see here in the suburbs of Charlotte. As the light level came up I could see that there was some fog on the lake, and it was moving around in a very slight breeze.
The first boater arrived about 7:00 – an even heartier soul than me. He offloaded his boat, nursed a sputtering outboard to life and headed off in search of some radioactive catfish. A second boater came a few minutes later and much better luck with his engine. He’s the one I was able to catch leading a wake out through the fog.
By the time the sun came up I had taken 144 frames and it was time to head home for coffee and a shower. As I was putting my camera back in the car I realized I had frost on my tripod. That’s about as cold as I’d like it to be, at least with my current gear!
Not bad for a winter Sunday morning. Weather permitting I hope to be getting back out there again, real soon!
