Sunrise at the Edge of the Storm

Midlevel clouds had moved in over night and the low level clouds were now advancing from the southeast ahead of the remnants of Hurricane Earl. For twenty minutes while at home, I had tried to convince myself there would be no color in this morning's sunrise. Finally, coming to my senses I left the house at 5:15am.  As I was driving down my forested street I could see signs of color peaking through the trees.  Down the road I passed an opening in the forest and could see the reds, the yellows, orange and burnt orange colors spreading across the horizon.  Now I'm angry with myself for questioning my original plan.  Three more miles to my shooting destination, a spot many of you will recognize as my favorite sunrise location.

 When I finally arrived at the top of the hill the color had spread across the horizon from the southeast all the way to the north.  The mid-level clouds were moving slowly to the east but the low level clouds from Earl were moving in fast from the east.

By the time the fluorescent orange sun broke the horizon at 6:23am, the low level clouds had all but covered the sun's path and all I got was the bright orange slit on the distant mountain.  A sun spike had been developing over the previous ten minutes and it was starting to fade.  But the light on the mountains to the north  added the definition the image needed for balance. I was still squeezing of the last shots when the rain started. A few minutes later I decided I was pushing my luck and packed up the gear to head back home.