The Saharan Dust Cloud was back in mid-June, and as the dust made its way over Florida, the sunrises and sunsets were spectacular. I headed to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive on my bike, hoping to catch a glimpse of a good sunrise. It exceeded my expectations!

My goal was to bike up to the Crazy U, where I’d gotten some beautiful bike-scape photos earlier in the summer. But the sunrise wasn’t going to wait that long. I peeked over my shoulder and saw the beautiful colors in the sky, so I repeatedly hopped off my bike to take a few shots.

As usual, I bracketed my exposures and did some HDR post-processing using Photomatix. Sometimes sunrise photos are overdone in post-processing, but here, I tried to stay very faithful to the colors I had seen.

A Great Blue Heron stood quietly near the reeds as the fiery sky reflected in the water around him. Little did I know then that I would spend many happy hours hanging out at this same spot over the next few weeks.

The light changed very quickly. I alternated pedaling and shooting as the color exploded through the clouds.

This was the peak moment. It was so spectacular that I almost forgot to take pictures.

The light faded as quickly as it came. By the time I approached my intended destination, the sun was already obscured by the clouds. A grackle watched the light fade with me. I headed back down the trail, not intending to stay very long. But I was detailed by three very cute subjects that you’ll meet in my next post!