Last weekend I met my good friend Deb up in St. Augustine for sunrise.  This beach is one of my favorite sunrise locations, with picturesque rocks in the foreground that keep your images from being “just another photo of the sun coming up over the ocean.”  Deb had seen photos from this location but never been there herself, and it’s always fun to share a great location.  Except for one problem, that Deb summarized succinctly…”where’s all the color!?”

It was Blue Hour, when the sun’s colors can be brilliant on the horizon.  Both Deb and I had gotten up around 3am and driven for a couple of hours to be at this beach in the half hour prior to sunrise, when the pinks and oranges and reds can be their most brilliant.  Except for today!  The clouds kept the morning dark.

Slowly a bit of color started to appear on the horizon and in the clouds.  I reminded myself that on my last visit, the sunrise looked like it wasn’t going to happen, and then the sun burst through a hole in the clouds and bathed the whole beach in beautiful golden light.  So I watched and waited…

There it was!  All of a sudden, the sun’s light came through a gap in the clouds.  It made a beautiful golden eye in the sky as I ran back and forth between rock formations, snapping photos while the light lasted.  It was beautiful!

Sunrise doesn’t last for long.  Within a few short minutes, the sun was blinding bright in our lenses.  It was time to move to our next photo location.  If you’ve been watching my blog, you might guess what that location is.  Otherwise, you’ll have to wait your “tern” to read all about it… ;-)