Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
There are two types of people in this world; night owls and larks. People who rise late and stay out late and those who prefer the early mornings. I have always been a lark and find pure joy in witnessing the dawn of a new day.
For me there is nothing better than being out in the landscape as nature wakes and the colours change from the cool blues of night to the golden hues of dawn. Watching the world come alive, listening to the skylarks welcome the morning with a cascade of golden notes as bright as the rising sun is a pleasure I wouldn’t trade. I love the peace, the newness and the anticipation of a new day and all the possibility that comes with it.
As a landscape photographer I have photographed a lot of sunrises and I’m well placed here on the east coast to do so. I live 5 minutes from the sea so I can look out of my bedroom window and judge the conditions without having to commit to driving anywhere if they don’t look promising.
I will never tire of photographing a sunrise but sometimes those beautiful morning colours don’t materialise and it is on those days that I like to head out and look for something different. This is when I will often ignore the east and look for an alternative direction to shoot towards.
Last weekend the weather looked good for photography. Calm conditions, no wind, frost and clear skies. But there was no cloud forecast, so little chance of vibrant dawn colours. A good opportunity to try a west facing sunrise shoot.
I decided to explore my local river on two consecutive mornings choosing a different location for each day. On Saturday I selected a spot that looked west over the water to the town of Woodbridge and offered an alternative perspective on a well photographed location. Getting there involved a mile and a half walk in the dark, and I arrived on the river bank just as the full moon was slipping from the sky.
The conditions were perfectly still, with a hint of mist above the water and some lovely reflections. The tide was low, giving me good access to the muddy foreshore and I had a wonderful time experimenting with different compositions.
Locations like this are perfect for clear mornings when the lack of cloud cover means little or no colour in the east. As the sun rose and the local kingfisher darted from bank to bank I created my favourite shot of the morning - Woodbridge waterfront lit by the warm glow of the rising sun.
The following morning I set out an hour before sunrise for an equally long walk, this time to a different location in slightly more challenging conditions. Thick fog enveloped the riverbank creating a mysterious atmosphere as the dawn light began to push the darkness from the sky. The frost on the grass crunched beneath my feet and the evocative call of the curlew rang out around the river valley as I followed the footpath upstream.
The estuary here is wide and the tide was at its lowest ebb revealing sculpted banks of mud that glistened in the early morning light. The peace was all encompassing, the fog muffled all sounds but the cries of the birds.
I love this otherworldly landscape, a transition zone between the land and the briny water beyond.
Leaving the river path I headed down to the beach and found a couple of old boats marooned on the tideline. The scene was atmospheric and reminiscent of pirate films. I explored with my camera and took a series of shots as the light changed and the sun tried to burn the fog from the sky.
This early morning light with its soft pastel hues is my favourite and to me it doesn’t matter which direction I shoot in, it is all atmospheric.
What makes a good sunrise?
The main ingredient for good sunrise colours is cloud - principally a mix of high level Cirrus cloud and a little medium (Altocumulus) or low level (Cumulus) clouds.
Cirrus clouds are thin and whispy and are always composed of ice crystals. They will glow many shades of red, pink, orange and yellow and their colour will always be the first to appear and the last to fade. You need a good amount of high level cloud for a colourful sunrise.
There needs to be a gap on the horizon for the light to filter through and illuminate the clouds from underneath. Without this gap there will be no colour, it doesn’t matter how much high level cloud is in the sky.
Thin cloud or mist on the horizon will have the effect of magnifying the sun as it rises in a large red ball. This effect often occurs in the summer and will always look best if shot with a zoom lens.
My personal favourite sunrise conditions include mist, high level cloud and no wind.
Why I would shoot west at sunrise.
Shooting the belt of Venus - This is a band of pale pinks and blues that you will find on the horizon in the opposite direction to the rising sun. It occurs about 20 minutes before sunrise and is caused by reflected light bouncing off the atmosphere in an effect called back scattering. This creates a pink band of colour visible on the horizon in the west. The same effect also occurs at sunset in the east.
Shooting the setting moon - Look out for a full moon that sets just as the sun rises. There are 12 full moons in 2024 and the one I photographed was a snow moon.
Using the morning sunlight to illuminate elements of the landscape - As I did in Woodbridge to light up the buildings on the waterfront. I will often shoot towards the west in the mountains where the horizon is difficult to see and the low light will cast a red hue on the east facing peaks.
What did I take away from my weekend of sunrise photography?
As much as I love chasing sunrise colours sometimes I think it is good just to get outside and enjoy the experience. For me there is huge value in watching the world come alive - it is joyful and life affirming.
By choosing to head out at sunrise when there is no one around and the wildlife is undisturbed I find I can learn a lot about my natural environment just by walking, watching and observing. I think this is important for a landscape photographer to do as it helps us better understand the habitats we are photographing.
Even if the conditions at sunrise are not prefect there will always be something to photograph, whatever direction we choose to point our cameras. Dawn light is soft, colours are subtle and there are no harsh shadows and for me this suits my style of photography perfectly. For these reasons I will always prefer to photograph at sunrise rather than sunset.
So whether you are a lark or an owl I would advise you to try some sunrise photography at least once. It really is the most magical time of day whatever the conditions.
Thank you very much for reading and until next week enjoy your photography
Gill
If you enjoyed this weeks post it would be lovely to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and comments below.
I am also, most definitely, a morning person. Nothing better than watching the world wake up. Absolutely love the textures in the beach from your second trip - beautiful images Gill
Beautiful images Gill, I particularly like the one taken down on the creek of the sandbanks - it looks like a painting to me and very otherworldly. I'm not a natural early morning person but when I do get out for the dawn it is always worth it, for the peace as much as the creative potential.