32 degrees on a January morning is always welcomed to me.  It is also an invitation to get out and shoot a sunrise.  Winter vs. Summer sunrises are a toss-up for me.  One plus to Winter sunrises is they happen later.  I am not opposed to getting up early, but 6 a.m. is always seems easier than 4 a.m.

Cyndie and I initially planned on shooting at a favorite spot in Lake City, MN – a quick 20 minute drive from where we live in Red Wing, MN.  We arrived at the point (off of Chestnut St) and just down from Ohuta Park.  We made good time and had plenty of time to spare.  Giving ourselves plenty of time was a good plan as there were minimal ice heaves present off the point.  There certainly were not enough to fill in the foreground of a photo.

Like any plan, it is good to have a backup.  We back-tracked to the boat landing in Old Frontenac on Lake St.  I had stopped there on MLK day while driving around Lake Pepin after shooting the sunrise.  I noticed some ice fishing houses on the lake; I thought they where closer to the landing.  I was envisioning them as a nice foreground for the sunrise shoot.  Upon arrival the parking lot was already full and folks where lining up on the ice to park.  The ice fishing houses where out further from shore; not in an ideal position unfortunately.

If you were thoughtful enough to have a back up plan, chances are you have yet another idea if the first and second option doesn’t pan out.  We still had plenty of time and decided to head back to Red Wing and then across the river into Wisconsin and to a favorite sunrise spot in Bay City.  This place works well any time of the year; with its close proximity to Red Wing, it is easy to reach if in a hurry.  The springs along the shore leave open water throughout the winter.  The open water affords local Mallards a quiet resting place as well as enable beautiful cloud reflections.

// TPE – The Photographer’s Ephemeris //

I shot the sunrise in three different sequences.  I have not shot any time lapse in a while, but felt inclined to do so because he the clouds were pretty epic this morning with nice gradual movement.  I wish I would have set up different cameras in the three locations and captured longer amount of time.

First sunrise sequence time lapse

Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.

Second sunrise sequence time lapse

Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.

Third sunrise sequence time lapse

Here is a single frame I selected from the sequence of shots to post process.

Here are some other shots from the morning.

And finally, some shots from the iPhone.  You need another camera to keep yourself occupied when shooting time lapse – you have some time on your hands.