Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Not quite a towering inferno


Building on fire
Shanghai, China, May 2007 [Click to get closer to the sun]


Never mind that my hotel room was facing west, opposite the sunrise. I wanted a sunrise picture anyway. Sunset was out of the question because I was usually busy with work and other scheduled stuff whenever the sun went down. So it was morning or bust if I wanted some pics of the gasbag.

I can't explain why I'm obsessed with sunrise/sunset images...I must have been born under one or something - so when I noticed that the glass on the building facing my room was turning funny colors, I put two and two together and got my camera ready.

Sure enough, it was perfectly positioned to capture the sun through the smoggy-hazy atmosphere. I hate to say it, but pollution makes for lovely photography. I'll duck now.

Your turn: Do you have a memorable sunrise moment? What is it about this time of day that attracts our/your attention?

9 comments:

Anna said...

I love how light can show so many colors. That is why I love the sunrise and sunsets.....when it is so beautiful, time almost stands still and I am in awe of the wonder of colors everywhere.

craziequeen said...

As ever, you have a gifted eye, my dear.....

Memorable sunrise? I have made it my life's ambition to miss as many sunrises as possible - bed is better at early o'clock.
Winter sunrise is beautiful with a clear winter sun and maybe a light frosting........
Or the sunrise after a night of insomnia....finally - daybreak..

cq

Anonymous said...

32 yrs ago...senior year of the high school prom...the morning after... racing the 70 or so miles to the exact spot of beach where we wanted to be standing as the dawn broke open the day... watching the sunrise with my boyfriend on the eastern shoreline of Florida's coast. The air was still and hot, and filled with the strong smells of the salt and the sea. It was thrilling and powerful. We were young, with every possibility that we could imagine, just waiting for us to choose one. Many changes in both our lives, since that time long ago...but, interestingly enough, we are still friends, and keep in touch, after all these years. It was a beautiful sunrise.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Love this picture Carmi...Besides the fascinating sun on the windows...that building through your windows----Terrific!
I don't see mamy sunrises but I do see a lot of sunsets and just LOVE them, too! Here on my hill, there have been some spectacular sunsets, I'm grateful to say.

Bobkat said...

That reflection is fantastic. It's amazing how the colour of the light can change the appearance of something so dramatically. Great photo. I love sunrises and sunsets too. There is just something so special about watching a new day start and then the old one end, knowing that the sun will rise again the next day.

longspider said...

Gorgeous photo, Carmi! The color is so intense and I love how it painted only the glass parts of the building, making a striking contrast to the rest and a fascinating fiery "W"

That's one nice thing here in OK - the wide-open spaces make for a big sky and spectacular sunsets.

Elizabeth McQuern said...

I just watched a documentary about creativity called "Inspiration," and in it, David Bowie says that since he quite drugs and alcohol, he's enjoyed waking up at about six every morning and beginning to work because it feels like the freshest, most potent part of the day. I feel the same way. Sometimes my reverse insomnia makes me wake up at inconveniently early hours, but if I go ahead and get up and start writing, I feel like I'm stealing some special time somehow.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing really!!!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful capture Carmi. It has been a while since I have been around. Sounds like you had quite an experience in Shanghai.

Not as many memorable sunrises as sunsets. I guess I am not a morning person unless I have too. I spent one morning taking pictures of a sunrise at Badlands National Park. But my favorite sunrise was a morning at a campsite near Telluride, Colorado. It was absolutely gorgeous.