February Sunrises
February is one of my favorite months to watch the sunrise. Why is this? The weather may not always cooperate, but the time of day that the sun comes up is about as good as it gets.
In December and January, the sun rises so late here that I don’t have to get up early to see it. It’s still dark when I wake up, and if the sky isn’t full of clouds, I can’t help but see the sunrise. But if Scott and I drive to a nearby park or someplace nice to take a photograph, it will be hard if not impossible to get to work on time.
In the summer months, there is no problem getting to work on time. The problem is how early we need to get up in order to see the sunrise. With the sun rising here at 5:15 AM and needing to be on site a minimum of 30 minutes before that to catch the color, it means getting up around 4 AM. I’ve done it a time or two, but it’s much harder.
February has the right balance of late enough to still get sleep and early enough to get to work. So, in February, I watch the weather conditions and try to catch a few beautiful mornings.
What do we look for in a sunrise location?
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1. A good eastward view of the sky
2. Something interesting in the foreground to frame the shot and provide additional interest
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3. Water or another reflective surface is nice
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4. A place where we are protected from traffic
There are a handful of locations nearby where we like to go. Sometimes we try a new place and add it to our list. Sometimes we find that the new spot doesn’t work very well.
We never really know what we will find when we get there. Sometimes we get to the location only to have clouds roll in and cover everything up. Sometimes the sun rises peacefully and uneventfully. Sometimes we get to witness spectacular color fill the sky.
Either way we get great coffee (that we bring), great company, and a quiet morning.