These pictures were taken a couple of years ago during a trip to the Bruce Peninsula. I came across them recently as I was going through some of my older images. I remembered how frustrated I was with the challenge of making strong images in light that didn't always cooperate. When I got home I found most of the compositions just weren't compelling enough.
To get to the sites before sunrise meant getting up at 4:00 a.m., driving for 30 minutes and hiking into the forest in the dark to find a spot that looked like it might work. Then set up the camera and tripod, and wait to see what the light would bring.
This shot was taken at 5:05 in the morning half an hour before sunrise.
These were taken thirty minutes later at the same place. The first shot includes the sunrise and I like it for that reason. The second version, with a stronger foreground and more detail on the right side, taken just two minutes later, is more striking but the sun had risen and disappeared behind a cloud. Had I looked more carefully, been more thoughtful as I composed the images, I would have been able to get a single shot that included both.
A different location, a different morning, but still on the Bruce Peninsula. The sky was hazy and the sunrise obscured: light is either there for you or it isn't and you just have to get the best shot you can with the light you're given.
Going back through older images is a good exercise. It was possible to see when I didn't have the camera settings quite right or where compositions could have been improved by moving just a little. Learning is a continuous process.