CA Capital at Sunrise

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CA State Capital at sunrise by Chip Bunnell Photography

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To me, there is no better time of day than sunrise. It is the start of the new dreams and all the slates are wiped clean from the previous. Mix in my city-boy roots and you have the love for photographying the streets on a weekend morning. Gone are the crowds of people and virtual parking lots of cars on the main roads. Calm and a brief feeling of openness fills the void. As an unpublished bonus, if you happen to look in just the right direction, at just the right time, you get a truly colorful treat in the urban sunrise sky.

A recent family trip took me to the state capital of California, Sacramento. With nothing more than a goal of seeing a unique bridge over the river and a GPS I headed out into the darkness. I was lucky to find a parking garage right across the street from the bridge with an empty spot right in the front – another bonus to photographing when most are fast asleep. As I stood at the corner waiting to cross, I looked to the right and then to the left (yes kids, look both ways before crossing the street) and saw one of the most amazing skies I have seen in years! From fiery reds to cool blues, it seemed as though a giant paint brush used just about every rich color in the pallet. The State Capital building stood as a brightly lit marker to draw my focus. I quickly positioned my tripod and made several frames from various angles, hoping that even a small piece of what I was witnessing could be captured.

Within a few short minutes the magical explosion of color faded and I moved on to my primary destination. Sometimes you are in just the right spot at the right time. That day I was, and that moment will live on in my archives to remind me of that powerful view.

Photo Stuff:  Single frame on a tripod, Processed in LR, PS and Topaz Adjust 5

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