Another Texas Sunrise

After spending my recent nights sleeping on a hospital rollaway - seeing this sunrise on the 22nd after sleeping in a regular bed became a milestone on my transition back to ‘normal’. Somehow being able to walk outside to take the picture rather than seeing the sunrise through a hospital window as I had earlier in the month became an inflection point in my thinking. I could relax a little and savor the day.

December Sunrise

The shorter days of November and December provide an excellent chance to catch the sunrise. I captured one in Maryland back in November. The picture in this post is the sunrise from the hospital window in Texas captured yesterday. All three construction cranes were active. In the earlier darkness their motion had been visible but the people working on the building were not visible until the morning light.

I liked the effect of the layer at the ground being very blue … and then the layer of pink. It only lasted for a few minutes and then the layers washed away in the brighter daylight. It was the start of  very good day.

November Sunrise

Sunrise in November….possible to photograph from my front doorstep now that the leaves have fallen from the trees. It happens about 7 AM so no need to get up any earlier than usual. It does tend to be cold. This morning - when I took these pictures - it was below freezing; there was frost on the lawn.

The early part of the sunrise has the most red - it’s my favorite and means that my favorite photographs are always 15-20 minutes before the actual sunrise.

Sunrise is always the hopeful beginning of the day but some are interesting than others. Patchy clouds near the horizon reflect the colorful light. The ones this morning were moving too. The silhouettes of trees give us scale and stabilize the context of the image.

Of course the color of the light itself enhances other images. I captured the frozen day lilies - my confused plant that bloomed in the spring and then again in the late fall. 

Enjoy the Monday after Thanksgiving!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 6, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Sunrise time lapse at Havre de Grace

Earthworm invasion: Aliens causing more harm than good? - Did you know that there are different kinds of earthworms….and they influence what kinds of plant grow?

America’s Greenest Presidents - Teddy Roosevelt tops the list….but Richard Nixon is second!

Celebrating the Remarkable Mark Catesby - the man that published the first scientific description of the New World’s plants and animals….his first trip to America was in 1712. Several of his illustrated books are available online via Botanicus

6 Futuristic Sci-Fi Gadgets That Actually Exist - hurray for self-driving cars!

15 Ways to Enjoy the National Park System This Fall

2012 time lapse of Aurora Borealis from Denali (video)

100 Million to Die by 2030 If World Fails to Act on Climate - and more than 90% of those deaths will occur in developing countries

Nantucket Cranberry Cake - I’m going to make this rather than cranberry sauce this year!

Is it green to be green? - infographic comparing costs of ‘green’ vs ‘non-green’ choices over a life time

Clouds

Clouds are a constantly changing aspect of our world. I’ve picked some examples today of how that ephemeral nature of clouds can be a frequent source of delight…if we just remember to look to the sky.  

Winter sunrises (Maryland 2012) with the red to orange to yellow

Summer afternoon clouds build up (Loveland Pass, Colorado 2012)

Spring sunset before a cold night (Death Valley 2012)

Summer clouds after a monsoon rain (Tucson 2012) Note the moon in the picture below.

February Sunrise

I’ve been watching all week for a great sunrise…and it happened yesterday. The clouds were just right to reflect the colors. The pictures below were taken from the front of my house in Howard County Maryland. This is about as easy as it gets for a sunrise photography project: simply walking out the front door at about 7 in the morning, taking pictures from two vantage points with a hand held camera. The first series was taken over a 3 minute period; the second over 4 minutes. Catching a great sunrise does not take a lot of time; being in the right place for those few short minutes is the challenge. Next time I’ll add a bit more location/setting control (i.e. use a tripod and just take one vantage point).

Trees still in silhouette

The red - pink - orange light

Reflected on the clouds

Begins a new day

The color sequence always the same

Red - pink - orange until

It all washes into yellow light

That bleaches away

To the dazzling brightness

Of a sunny day.

Celebrating January 2012

What do you celebration in January? Here are some ideas:

• It's the beginning of the year. Celebrate by being awake in its first moments - wishing family and friends a 'Happy New Year!'
• Alternatively - go to bed at a normal time and get up to see the sunrise on the first day of the year to celebrate new beginnings. This year I was driving east between Texas and Maryland for that first dawn of the year. It was not a very photogenic sunrise but the one a few days later the sunrise was spectacular and I've attached a photo of it below.

• Snow is cause for celebration - even more so now that it does not seem to come as often. Change your schedule to avoid the travel/commute nightmare (i.e. take a vacation day, work at home) and simply enjoy the impromptu day that snow made different. I'll post my recipe for snow ice cream when the first significant snow comes to my area. Sometimes getting colder by eating snow ice cream is not my preference - so I keep hot chocolate and spiced tea on hand as well.
• Celebrate that the flurry of the winter holidays are over. The calm after all the activity is something to savor. Do it with a good book or a walk in a favorite favorite garden (bundled up if it is cold) or a quiet out-to-lunch with a friend.