Kentucky Morning Series...Summer Sunrise

Sleep  barely washed from my eyes, I climbed into the Jeep and headed out for a morning shoot. I didn't know for sure what to expect on this summer morning. When I came to the intersection that connected with the main road, I paused for a moment in the dull light of pre-dawn, looked left then right, took a breath, and said "that way".

Two miles down the road out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of farm I passed all the time and rarely took notice of it. The sun had climbed a few degrees above the horizon and the sky was set aglow by its warmth. At each corner of the entrance into the farm two lamps were still lit and the white fence arched around the pasture. It took a few dozen yards for the my Jeep to come to a complete stop and then a few seconds to backup far enough so I could easily jump out.

I crossed the road, set up my tripod and made a quick test shot and after a few adjustments, two or three more. Then went on my way.  The rest of the morning proved uneventful and sometime later after I downloaded the images, this first quick set turned out to be the best of the day.

I can't count how many times I've made quick shots like this that turn out to be the best shots of the day. Usually that is not the case, but every so often, light, time, and place converge to allow for such things to happen.

This particular image has become one of my favorite summer morning images over the years. It possesses a symmetry and balance not easily obtained with quick shots. Light as always is what makes any image work, and for this particular one, it actually became the main ingredient.

Summer is one of my favorite times to photograph early in the day. So many things happen during that first half hour of the morning. On that day, it proved its worth once again.

Keith