I’m not sure if this will last, but I’ve decided to try to photograph at least one sunrise or one sunset a week in
2015. If I do, I’ll have 52 photos to stack side by side. The effort
is helping me to recognize how much beauty remains, even through these dark days of winter.
But while making my way to the water before sunup in January
is doable, oh Lord, it’s cold. Last
weekend, at eight degrees, plus a wind chill off the water, I’m pretty sure I
was close to frostbite--which is what
happens when one forgets to check the thermometer before leaving. I climbed back into the car after five
pictures and sat blowing on my hands for what felt like forever, before I could
bend them enough to hold the steering wheel.
And, yes, I was wearing mittens. With that, only one picture turned out marginally good. Even with a tripod, the
wind wiggled the camera.
As a result, this week I went for the sunset. In weather still cold enough that tears poured out of my eyes, but nothing compared to the weekend before, I headed up to our
reservoir, where I’ve never been in the winter.
It was worth it, not only to catch the light, but to witness a skate sailor
zipping around the pond. That was new
for me too. The writing hasn’t been
going well, but when I strap a camera on and hike somewhere to capture an image, I
feel like I’ve accomplished something.
