A New Day Dawns

» Posted by David Taylor on Aug 21, 2010 in Alaska, color, Dave Taylor, Hatcher Pass, Hiking/Backpacking, Landscapes, Mat-Su Valley, Mountains | 1 comment

Just a quick image post from this morning. I woke up at 4:00 am (guess what, it is dark again!) and hopped in the shower, grabbed my gear and I was out the door. Yes Mom, I had clean underwear on…

I drove up into Hatcher Pass and parked near Summit Lake, then climbed past a waterfall to some suspended lakes in the high alpine. By the time I reached the top of the waterfall, the sky was already brightening. Unfortunately, the predawn colors I was hoping for never materialized, too many clouds on the eastern horizon. So I continued hiking, gaining a little more elevation until I circled the back side of a small lake (or large pond) and scouted a few more spots to shoot in the future. My back was to the rising sun when I noticed a beam of warm light shooting past me and spilling over the valley and peaks beyond. I turned to see the sun cascading from behind the peaks.

Well, didn’t see that coming. I had just glanced that way 5 minutes before and noticed clouds obscuring the sky. I rushed back to a previous location and set the tripod up, turned on LiveView and fired off several bracketed shots, knowing that 1 frame would never record the dynamic range before me. Fog (I call it fog, since it was below me… but actually it was a lower cloud layer) rolled  through the valleys and washed over mountain sides, the warm light caressing the land gently. Magical moment, and it lasted less than 2 minutes. Funny, 2 minutes before I saw that beam of light, I was getting ready to pack up the gear and head home.

Just goes to show… be patient.

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