About this picture. It was taken over Rockport Harbor, Rockport, Massachusetts. It was 4:45 or a few minutes later in the morning of July 4th. We were staying in a friend’s pied-à-terre literally across the street from the harbor, so although I had to get up before dawn — it was indeed still night when I grabbed my gear to walk to the harbor — it wasn’t very far and I didn’t have to drive anywhere. My feet were enough.
Did I know what a great picture it would be? Yes. I could see it coming. There was this one thin little cloud and the sun was going to intersect it. If I kept my camera LITERALLY against my eye and ready to shoot … and assuming I was in focus and all that … it couldn’t help but become one of the “once in a lifetime” shots. The hard part was waiting. You only get a couple of seconds. That the sky literally went scarlet — even redder than the picture — as the cloud and the sun met was a bonus. The sky that morning was a kaleidoscope. The color was constantly changing, from pale to gold to scarlet to pink to a mix of everything and finally, to full sunlight.
I got there at about 4:30 in the morning and shot for about an hour and a half. My only wish is that I’d had a better camera at the time. It was the best I could afford at the time and the best I’d ever had. I’m still reworking the originals as I get new and better processing technology, but the original quality is what it is.
This picture always reminds me if you are willing to get up very early, fend off a zillion starving mosquitoes and stay focused — literally and figuratively — sometimes you get really amazing pictures.
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Categories: Nature, photo, Photography, Sunrise, Water
Tags: dawn, Golden Hour, harbor, masterpiece, Nature, New England, Photograph, Photography, photos, reflections, Rockport, ships, sunrise, Weekly Photo Challenge: Masterpiece
Absolutely beautiful photograph.
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Sometimes, we get a little lucky. Of course, getting up a lot early counts too 🙂
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That is so beautiful! I’m very glad you got up and out so early that morning! 🙂
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Me too 🙂
On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 12:22 PM, SERENDIPITY
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That’s an outstanding photo! Well done.
janet
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Amazing photo! It really lifts the spirit!
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Thank you!
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Incredible photo! This one is a real masterpiece!!
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Good timing 🙂
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What a beautiful picture!
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You can’t go wrong with sunrises or sunsets over water 🙂
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Damn that is a great pic, where was that taken?
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Rockport, Massachussetts. 4:45 AM, July 4th. At the Harbor 🙂 Me, the seagulls and a hell of a lot of mosquitoes.
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that is one thing I don’t miss about the East Coast Mosquitoes. So up early or up late for that pic?
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Early. VERY early. I was up when it was still dark. Fortunately, we were staying just across the street from the harbor, so I didn’t have to drive anywhere, just grab my gear and go. I saw that the sun was going to cross paths with that long skinny cloud and I just waited, poised. I was afraid to even look away because I knew I’d have no more than a couple of seconds to get it. That the sky turned scarlet for those couple of seconds was a nice bonus. It was a sensational sunrise. I took a LOT of pictures that morning. Hundreds.
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beautiful photo!
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It was one of those really great moments in photography when you are in the right place at the right time and your camera is in your hand and ready to go. It doesn’t happen very often.
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