Sun Rises on the Lake

Before the sun rises on the lake, the sky begins to lighten ever so slightly. In this photograph from early in 2017, both sky and lake are colored a rich midnight blue. Any opportunity that I have to arrive before the sun rises on the lake, I will take. I have always appreciated just how still and peaceful these mornings are. There are rarely that many people on the lake. If it is the winter, I’m generally by myself. However As the sun rises on the lake, more people will begin to appear. In winter you start to recognize the same people every day, as the number of travelers along the lakefront bike path dwindles. Few joggers make their way over, the conditions too unfavorable.

This type of weather really allows you to study the way the light changes. Each morning showing different characteristics and qualities. Eventually the sun will rise far enough to remove these rich subtle tones. But in this photo, you can clearly see how this morning light suffuses the entire landscape. I often have to find those clear spaces in the sky to avoid airplanes overhead. On this morning I was able to photograph for an extended period before needing to reset my camera.

As the Sun Rises on the Lake

The waters of the lake, slightly darker than the sky above are beginning to appear more clearly as the sun rises on the lake. Stars are slowly fading away as dawn approaches. As the sky continued to lighten this early morning on Lake Michigan the tones began to warm. Cycling from these deep blues and purples and blacks into peach tones. Eventually becoming a beautiful blue day. View another early morning on the lake here, from my instagram. And view the entire five years of the Lake Series here.