Early Morning River Lights, well yesterday morning I went out early before sunrise for the purpose of photographing a sunrise. But I had an unexpected view when I got down to the river.
A little out of my normal photography. A tug boat and barge were heading down river, with their giant spot light on, to guide their way as they travel in the silence of the morning. The river was smooth as ice across the river, but the clouds were reflecting in the water on my side of the river. It was so quiet except for the chugging of the motor on the boat.
So I turned towards the west to look at the new bridge. It was lit up by the construction lights under the bridge. Such a peaceful morning.
And off to my right was this gorgeous reflection of this building. I believe I will go down there again the next time it is this calm out. But get there a little earlier. As soon as the sun comes up, everything looks completely different.
Light Rays of the Rising Sun, yesterday morning I went down to the river, a little earlier than usual. But, because daylight savings time has not set in yet, the beginning of sunrise starts about 5:30 am. So I got to the river about 5 am just before golden hour starts.
This is Lock and Dam 14 on the Mississippi River, I have not been down here since spring, about 6 months ago I think.
You can see behind the tree the sky is just starting to brighten a little bit. At this time of the morning the river is quiet, I hear a train somewhere off in the distance. This is what they call the Golden Hour of a sunrise, when the sun is around 6 degrees below the horizon.
Most people like to photograph the golden hour, as do I, but the next two hours are the prettiest to me. Blue hour and Civil Hour. Blue “hour” is an even shorter time than golden hour. Shorter because blue hour describes the sun from 4*-6* below the horizon. The sun travels a shorter distance during this time, so naturally it takes up less time.
Civil twilight describes the time that the sun is at 0*-6* below the horizon that includes the last bit of the golden hour and all of the blue hour. The sky is changing colors quickly at this point and there is enough light to move around without having really any trouble. The sun has passed the horizon line, but there is still plenty of good light for photos if you are willing to stick around.
And then this happened, I have seen when the sun is casting rays of light, but usually it is casting the light downwards on a cloudy morning, because it is usually later in the morning. Well, the clouds came in and all of a sudden the sun rays lite up the sky, passing rays of light up over my head. It was just beautiful.
This photo here was taken about 8 am, what a colorful morning this was for sure. So if you are ever out for a sunrise, make sure to stick around for blue hour if you can. This is the best show on earth for me. Have a great day.
The Boys Are Back in Town, well look who I found hanging out down at the old watering hole. Yep, there back, or they just stopped for a quick snack on their way south. I did not think I would see anymore until next year. What a surprise it was for me.
I went down to the river just to see if the Egrets were still here, because it has been getting colder at night. So I figured they might all be gone. I turn the corner and there are dozens of white birds down river and when I got closer I saw they are the White Pelicans. They were having a good time eating their fill of fish.
The water is really low right now, actually I have never seen it this low. And where these birds are, the outlet to this water hole is blocked because of the low water, so the fish that are here are trapped and the pelicans are having a feeding frenzy.
After they get there fill, they need to do a little preening as they perch themselves in the sunshine. I will be going down there tomorrow again to see if they might still be here. One more chapter Kent. 🙂
