Waiting on the Sunrise

If someone ever asked me if I had a preference for either sunrises or sunsets I would pick sunrises in a heart beat.  I'm up well before the sun rises, the only exception is on the rare weekend morning that I actually sleep in.  Most of my runs begin, and many end, well before the sun rises above the horizon.  

Take for example, this guy I captured the other day. 

Unfortunately, I selected a poor day to wake up well prior to dawn, drive down to the bay, and await the coming sunrise.  On this particular cold Sunday morning the sun decided to rise in super fast action.  I'm not kidding you.  I took two pictures of the sunrise and that was it.  The weather forecast called for partly cloudy skies, but unfortunately mother nature decided to go with a thin layer of clouds blanketing the sky.  

Oh well, it wasn't a total loss.  I did have a very peaceful morning along the bay.  I was the first one out on the trail, besides whatever small animal left their footprints scattering about. 

I don't know about you, but the photo above brings me absolute peace.  The water is calm and non-threatening, even if it is nearly freezing cold.  

I take it back. Barely being able to ascertain where the heavens connects with our world is pretty amazing.  If it wasn't for that faint Eastern Shore in the distance I wouldn't know what was sky and what was water. 

But then again, I'm a sucker for snow.  I grew up in the Catskills and snow was a fairly regular winter sight for me, but now I'm down south of the Mason Dixon line and snow doesn't stick around very often.  I miss the pure, clean, snow look.  

Back to the sunrises versus sunsets debates.  Maybe I prefer sunrises because I'm an East Coast gal and there's just something magical about watching the sun rise over water.  Then again, the sun used to set over the lake behind my childhood home, while breathtaking, I still preferred the sunrises over the mountains. 

I'll just count my blessings that I've seen both amazing sunrises and sunsets over the years.  I hope to one day to be able to capture one and freeze it in time with my camera.  The hunt continues.

How about you - are you a sunrise or a sunset person?