Wake Up Call
Badlands Part Two
Weather is a fact of life. Photographers love a fiery sky with warm sunrise light bathing the landscape. But no matter how well you plan, you really don’t know what nature will provide until you’re in the moment.
I was tired. Sunrise was at 5:18 last July when I was in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It was the fourth morning I’d set my alarm for 3:15 to get up in time to drive an hour into the park, walk to my location, and arrive a minimum of 45 minutes before sunrise.
On multiple occasions, my early morning alarm has gone off and I’ve been greeted by solid cloud cover or rain. Once, in Iceland, it rained for 10 straight days without ever stopping. On those days, instead of nature’s light show, you get a gloomy progression from a featureless dark sky to a featureless gray sky. It’s a photographer’s nightmare.
When my alarm went off that morning in the Badlands, I could hear rain falling outside. I’ve heard that sound enough to know that the morning would likely be a photographic bust. But sometimes, the transition from rain to clearing skies produces storm light with brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges that take your breath away.
The strong temptation, after three days of early wakeups and late nights, was to roll over and go back to sleep. Telling myself that I could always take an afternoon nap, I rolled out of bed and got ready to leave.
The Shot
The rain was rapidly diminishing as I walked from the road into the backcountry. And to the east, a thin sliver of clear sky appeared. After waiting a while, the rising sun lit up the underside of the clouds overhead bathing the area in a radiant magenta.
After taking the shot featured in last week’s Friday Photo, I moved a few feet to this location.
Using Photoshop, I had to tone down the reds in this image. The morning light was so intensely red that you wouldn’t believe it unless you were there.
Walking back to my car, I was so grateful that I opted to take a chance and show up rather than sleep in. I would have missed one of the best sunrises I’ve ever experienced.
The morning reminded me of Cheryl Strayed’s line in the movie Wild. “There’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to choose to be there for it…Put yourself in the way of beauty.”
Thanks for looking,
Chuck