"You've Got Ten Minutes!"
I’ll admit it; one of the first things I do when I wake up is reach for my phone. This morning was no different. I reached over, grabbed my phone, and immediately checked to see what the cloud conditions were predicted to be. Don’t we all?
The Morning’s Prediction
The morning’s cloud predictions looked great! I immediately began comparing the predictions with areas of interest I knew of around the area. One area, in particular, jumped out at me as a potential place to shoot. It was almost an hour away! Would I have time?
A Barn’s Eye View Prints Available
I’d shot this area before, only much later in the morning. (See image above) This would have been a great morning to have been on location at sunrise, had I knew the composition existed. I only came upon it after a night of shooting the stars elsewhere.
It was just prior to 0600 and the sun, according to the image above, rose at 0718. If I left within ten minutes, and nothing went wrong along the route, I could potentially make it! With that, I threw a toothbrush across my teeth, found something resembling clothing, kissed the wife, “Have a good day!",” and was off!
I keep my photography backpack packed just for times like these when there isn’t time to get my brain ready, let alone a camera bag. Heck, I even have enough gear to do a week-long trip ready to go minus the food, which can be picked up on day one without much of an issue.
On the way out, I text a local photog buddy in the hopes of swinging by and picking him up along the way. No luck! Bummer…
Clear Skies To The East (S8)
On the initial leg of my drive, the skies were completely dark. I couldn’t see more than a few stars. Was it cloudy? If so, the forecast may have been a bit off. This happens quite a bit, though I generally error on the side of “go anyways” just in case things change.
Further on down the road, and ever closer to the upcoming sunrise, I could see that the skies weren’t cloudy at all. If earlier there were any clouds blocking the stars they were burning off quickly. Looking ahead, just as predicted, the East looked to be quite clear. The question now was, “Would the clouds behind me cooperate?”
Behind The Scenes At The Barn
Upon arriving at the location I wanted to shoot, I had only a couple of minutes to use to set-up my equipment. This only took mere moments and, while setting up, the farmer pulled up along-side me. We shot the breeze for a few and then it was go-time!
He drove off down the road on his way to get water for the cows. I, in turn, focused my attention on the approaching sunrise and the disappearing clouds! What!?
The Thinnest Of Clouds
I had noticed earlier but I guess I somehow hoped that if I didn’t acknowledge it it wouldn’t be there. The clouds were thinning and fast!
Much like I noticed earlier when there were barely any visible stars then, suddenly, there were clear skies; the clouds off to the West were thinning and fast! At the time the above image was taken, there was barely anything left in the sky to reflect the day’s coming sunlight.
Well, I suppose, as long as there is snow on Pikes Peak, I’ll be looking to shoot this shot again. Only, next time, I hope to give myself more than ten minutes to get out the door from a dead sleep. :-)
