I don't sleep well when I'm away from home. When it's a business trip and I'm flying solo, it's even worse. As much fun as it is to be exploring a new part of the world and meeting fascinating new people, I miss the comforts of home. I miss the voice of the person who chose me and the voices of our children. I admit I'm not entirely comfortable with the tomb-like silence of an empty hotel room.
Add in the differences in time zones and I often find myself waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. This time, I stared at the ceiling for a while before I pulled out my notes and re-read them. I'm not sure what prompted me to look up after I'd been at it for a while, but when I did, I noticed the sky had gone from pitch-black to rather bright - and it was growing a bright orange strip just above the horizon.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen the sunrise. So I prepared a makeshift tripod - an empty water bucket and some big towels - and got the camera ready.
As the clouds were gradually turned into the color of fire by the rising sun, I shot as many pictures as I could, hoping to capture the one that would symbolize that very lonely moment when the world was waking up, and a stranger in a quiet hotel room tried to record it all so he could tell the story when he got home.
Your turn: How do you explain our fascination with the rising sun? What do you feel - as opposed to think - when you see this image?
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Related link:
The view from the balcony, October 2009
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22 comments:
Were this out my window- "Red in the morning, Sailor take warning!"
(Good thing you're not on the coast)n we are having a storm today...
When I see the sun rise, I've been awake too long, n it's time to sleep- but I have to watch it! unique beauty each time...
Sol gives us life!
This is a beautiful shot! This particular sunrise makes me anxious. The vibrant colors makes me feel as if a storm is brewing, and not necessarily weather related.
What a stunning picture; it looks very scary.
Michele sent me here.
looks like bed time to me! actually im upside down adn go to bed with the rising sun. we were on normal human time for a while, but when indy gets sick (he had a tummy flu that he is finally getting over) he is up all night and the rising sun usually means he will be drifting off soon.
You know, if you ever come to the west coast, you should meet interesting new people... like us! vancover bc is only about 6 hours from us.
I actually had this thought this morning as I was rushing to my desk at work and happened to glance out the window to a gorgeous sunrise.
I feel that I'm certain that this is not a sunrise in the Westminster I know, ie central London, UK. So where is it, there is probably some significance to the CO that passes me by?
Here for my weekly visit from michele's. Have a great weekend.
Another wonderful picture. I think most people love sunrise because it signals a new beginning.
Here from Michele's
The rising sun brings us hope, Carmi; hope that it will continue to do just that for many years to come. I don't think this one is scary at all - but it is beautiful!
Michele sent me.
great blog!
The rare times I see a sunrise I am amazed beyond words. Hope, beginnings, a chance today to get things right--or at least better than I did yesterday. Here from Michele's.
I love the silence of hotel rooms, maybe because I don't get much silence at home and I crave it.
Sunsets have always held more of a fascination for me than sunrises...just as I prefer autumn over spring...
When I saw your picture I thought ... what a beautiful orange sky! I love cloud pictures :-)
oh, and hi, Michele sent me!
Dawn is, to me, a very lonely time, so that's what I see in this picture. Sometimes it's the good kind of lonely, the quiet withdrawal into self and thought that helps generate your best ideas...and sometimes it's the not so good kind, the kind that's three A.M. gone on far too long.
Lovely colors though. :) I would like to pull that orange from the sky and wear it as a scarf.
Hello from Michele's!
I feel hopeful and full of faith when I see the sunrise.
I think we feel so strongly about the sunrise because it's symbolic of a new start, like anything is possible.
This picture is absolutely fantastic, Carmi. And the way you speak about lonliness is beautiful - I think everyone can identify with your feelings. Thank you, as always, for sharing with us.
The rising sun is symbolic of rebirth and hope, I think.
What a stunningly beautiful photograph, Carmi.....
cq
Michele sent me here, and I thank her.
A fine shot. There's also a peace to watching the sun rise. "Its a brand new dawn" and all that.
I live right next to Westminster CO and work in Westminster CO....I get to see this sunrise almost every morning...our sunsets over the mtns are great too. ARE YOU HERE????????????????????????????
It makes me feel "in awe"...Ij awe of --once again Carmi--Nature. Nature is so fantastically amazing, beautiful, frightning, Glorious...Well you get the picture..(In more wats than one...lol)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture, Carmi!
Michele sent me back to you tonight and look what I foubd! Was this still Colorado?
"warmth, come find me,
pour your gold into my veins
heat seeking me
tilts my face to you
Oh sun, bringing joy and light."
Here from Michele.
The shot is lovely.
For some reason it makes me FEEL like a sunset rather than a sunrise. More specifically, I feel as if I'm in the old west on a trusty Palomino horse and if there were only a few cacti reaching their arms to the sky, I would definitely be back in the 1800's!
Oh Carmi, answering your question could possibly take pages. The first thing I felt was the laughter of a family memory regarding "is the sky red where you are?" which is what my mom asked when I told her I was pregnant. It's actually a long story, but, well, you know - these are comments here, not novels. We still tease her to this day about it, though.
Then, when I read your post and got to your question, I thought of all the times I have driven from MN to IL before we moved here. We always started our 10 hour trip in the dark and I always take the first leg. The trip goes almost due east first thing out and so I end up driving into the sunrise. Champs and Sweet Girl are usually asleep so I get to enjoy the sunrise by myself. Since i'm driving to it while it's revealing itself to me, it comes on pretty quickly once it starts. However, coming up over the hills, trees and farmlands of middle Wisconsin, it is the most beautiful and peaceful moment of the trip - and sometimes, of several months!
Wow! It's gorgeous!
Lovely shot! Close to my heart, being in Colorado. Yep, I clicked the link from your post today.
Hope you're feeling better.
Dianne - Bunny Trails
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