chapter 548

1/15/2020

Night Photography

no light no picture

I woke up at 4 am to get to Vermont, climb up the Mount Olga (fam vacation) in the dark and on up the fire tower to catch this sunrise. It's an adventure. It's exciting to get up early when you don't have to. Like Christmas as a kid or when Dad was gonna take you on a hunting or fishing trip. Getting up at 5 am years ago to feed the chickens or milk the cows had a special feel to it also but was a little more arduous.

When on vacation there are certain places like the Haleakala volcano in Maui or a Florida beach where it's a thing for tourists flock to in the morning to catch the sunrise. I've resisted most of that,  but so overlooked and convenient are places right near your own home.

iPhone panorama / topaz process.

link to video of climb

Climbing solo up the ice and snow covered trail with roots and boulders ready to trip you and break a leg is not without risk. I knew the trail from previous hikes. (This is the easier beginning section.) Wanted to capture a more dramatic shot with me climbing but it was too tedious setting up the gorilla tripod and timer as I didn't want to risk missing the sunrise. What really gave me confidence though was having the micro spikes and the head lamp. We own the night. My Black Diamond $30 unit is so bright, compact, efficient, and functional it's remarkable. No, they aren't paying me but be sure to like and subscribe.

There are other risks too like deer and drunks on the road, startling some wildlife, bear, moose, or coyote on the trail. I took my combat survival knife just in case and made noise while walking. Got to get a bell. And yes, I want to capture more scenes that make interesting compositions.

Colleen and I used our head lamps while walking after sunset near home here. It adds a dimension and expands your variety of things to do and beauty to experience and feel, and she's game.

At Mount Olga my objective was to catch the glow behind the mountains just before the sun rose. Turns out the microwave antenna was directly aligned with the sun so it somewhat spoiled the view. Nevertheless, the lighting was fantastic. It was changing so dramatically having a different effect on objects everywhere you look. 

The same view 20 minutes later when the sun had gone behind the clouds then reappeared gives a whole different feel. I had taken off an outer jacket on the way up to not get too sweaty. Temps were a mild 35 degrees. Got some snow on the way up. Now on top the wind was whipping maybe into the teens windchill but I kept shooting not wanting to miss anything. Fingers were freezing up. Finally put on an outer jacket from my backpack and had some hot chocolate from my thermos.

The lighting was so dynamic giving each perspective a different look. Is this why painters like the golden hours?

After an hour and a half on top I'd had enough and though blueberry pancakes would be nice down in the cute little town of Wilmington. As I walked I could see this beautiful ski mountain (back side of Stratton I believe) in the distance through the trees. The sun was hitting it intermittently bringing out so many different colors in various spots through the clouds. This was even better than the sunrise I thought but I had to use pocket cam tele to zoom for the shot.

While down at the river near home these two passed me on bikes with lights. It was cold, there was mud, ice and snow but they seemed to be enjoying the moment as they gave me a friendly greeting.

Light up the Night.

.