Warmth Of Light

One thing I’ve learned in my years of shooting is that patience is helpful in getting a great shot. One of the qualities that I most admired about Ansel Adams is that he waited for the right moment and the right light for his images, sometimes visiting the same spot several times for the perfect lighting. This particular morning promised a great sunrise. One advantage that technology has provided us is the easily accessible data on where the sun will rise on any given day. This day I chose to shoot from the West End bridge and capture the sunrise as it moved between a few of Pittsburgh’s taller buildings and reflected on the rivers.

It was about 12°F but the but the air was still. I shot for about 30 minutes and got some really nice color in the sky before the sun poked above the horizon. Then all of the color disappeared. There was a line of clouds at the horizon, then a sliver of open sky, then solid clouds above that. I decided to wait for the sun to rise above the lowest layer of clouds and when I did, the color came back in full force. I moved slightly to use a building to block the bright orange ball and the shadow that it cast was amazing. The water’s surface, heated by the sun, began to steam and everything fell into place. The contrast between light and dark was intense, but I managed to get an acceptable exposure that had detail in the shadows of the buildings without having highlights that were too bright.