Sleep. Sunrise. Coffee. Repeat.
Its spring, the alarm goes off at 4:30am Saturday morning and I immediately think to myself, why the hell I am up this early. I roll out of bed, take a pee, brush my teeth, make sure I have the proper clothing on, grab a water, and hit the road. It takes anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to get to the lakefront in Milwaukee (depending on the location) from my parents house. During the ride, I turn on 88.9, examine the sky to see what the cloud situation is like, by now I am already glad I got out of the bed, and think, I can’t believe I was mad I got up this early. I usually arrive about an hour before the show, meet up with a few fellow photographers, gear up, and walk to the lakefront and prepare for the sunrise.
There is just something about a sunrise that I love so much more than a sunset. Maybe because I am a person that is excited for what is to come in my life, rather than dwell on the past? Maybe its just being in the moment when almost everyone else is asleep and it feels like you have the whole world to yourself, just for that little bit of time. It almost gives you a sense of accomplishment to start your day. Whatever it is, it is something that I absolutely love to capture, and have greatly enjoyed meeting the other sunrise photo addicts in the Milwaukee area as well.
As a photographer you almost become a weather nut as well. You plan for a shoot by looking to see what the temperature will be like, is it going to rain, is Lake Michigan going to have a lot of waves, is it too windy to go by trees, and other various weather related planning. A sunrise does not last very long. You get about 10-20 minutes of color before the sun hits the horizon, and depending on cloud coverage only a few minutes after the sun starts coming above the horizon. So a lot of planning goes into a short period of time. Its crazy what the weather can bring to a sunrise photo. I think photographers are the only people who get mad if it is a clear sky. When shooting, I am always hopeful there will be clouds in the sky, but at the same time, I get irritated if there is to many clouds in the sky, it’s a constant battle with mother earth that I enjoy greatly enjoy.
There are times when you get to your location and there is just nothing to shoot, the sky is overcast, the waves are huge, and you just don’t have a composition that works for you. Those are the worst; you get back in your car, think to yourself why the hell did I get up for this. Sometimes you get up look at the weather and have no idea what to expect. You can be driving to your location and fog can come out of nowhere, that fog can make or break a picture depending on the location. The best is when it is cloudy, and you arrive early and notice a shift in some of the clouds, they start to break up and then the colors explode. It is very rare to get an almost perfect sunset. Sometime you get out and it looks like it could be amazing, and then right when the color starts to pop a cloud stretches over the horizon and the color fades. Everything can change in a matter of seconds, that is why getting there early and staying after the sun is up is key.
If shooting in the Midwest or in north where there are cold winters, this means that ice will be present. One of my favorite times to shoot sunrise, is when the weather is cold, and I mean COLD. With subzero temps on Lake Michigan, the water can become warmer than the air, and you can literally see the water evaporating into the air. Also shooting in the winter, especially on Lake Michigan can cause some serious ice formations making for a very dramatic foreground.
Seeing a sunrise on vacation is something that needs to be experienced. Photographer or not, make one of your vacation days an early morning, go for a hike or drive your car to a scenic view that looks east. Grab your camera or a cup of coffee and enjoy the colors.
The biggest advice I can give to someone shooting sunrise is to WAIT out the sun. This is advice I constantly need to give myself. It also is advice for shooting the sunset as well. There has been too many times where I wait and say, I don’t think there is going to be much color, I pack up and head home. On my way I look out into the sky and see that the colors exploded. Don’t ever try to predict the colors, wait it out, you will most likely be rewarded.
Now I must say that when I am shooting the sunrise in Milwaukee, I also look forward to the coffee after. Usually on Saturdays and Sundays when shooting sunrise, I am shooting along with another photographer, there may happen to be several other photographers in the area shooting as well, and one crazy guy asking fellow photographers if they have their permit to shoot in the area. After the sunrise many of the photographers head to Colectivo Coffee to drink some Jo and talk photos. Sometimes there are only two people, but other times there is a few tables full, and it is a great time. I thoroughly enjoy having coffee with the other photographers, and look forward to it each time I am in Milwaukee. So if you ever find yourself shooting the sunrise in Milwaukee, come join us for a coffee at the lakefront Colectivo.
So that is why I drag myself out of bed in the morning, sleep is great, but so is experiencing a sunrise.
Here are some of my favorite sunrise shots: