dawn – Page 2 – Decaseconds

Two Spontaneous Alignments in San Diego

2023-Apr-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

With so many tall, vertically oriented structures in a city, it’s probably no surprise that some of them should fall into pleasing alignment with one another. The modest glow of sunrise light through the gap between the clocktower and the adjacent building provides a friendly spark to guide the eye to the center of this image.

In this second case, it’s harsher Sun, rather than palm trees and clock towers, that has found its way into a special alignment through the streets of San Diego. Bright light falls into this canyon that should otherwise be dawn dim.

Los Angeles River When Wet

2023-Apr-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

While the L.A. River might be better known as the site of chase scenes in action movies when dry, the wet winter in California has turned it into a reflective ribbon through the grid.

Muscle Cars at Dawn in San Diego

2023-Apr-19 adohertyh1 Comment

Dawn makes for this dynamic moment when parts of a scene are thrown into dramatic sunlight while others still benefit from delicate, scattered, indirect light.

I like these shots for how the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger are bathed in relatively gentle, flattering light, but headlights and sunlight make the rest of the scene comparatively high-contrast.

Suburbs Up to the Wall

2023-Apr-032023-Apr-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

An early-morning flight out of Palm Springs airport paints gentle hues onto the massive wall that is Mt. San Jacinto. The orderly, be-palm-tree’d grid of the valley floor runs so sharply into the mountainside that I was immediately reminded that a sea once occupied the valley.

San Diego Runners

2023-Mar-29 adohertyhLeave a comment

I last traveled to San Diego to present at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society—but while that meeting took place during the day, early morning was unaccounted-for time. I went exploring in the area around the San Diego Convention Center and found that most of my early-morning compatriots were runners.

In this quartet of images, I’ve captured a few of those runners in the dramatic early-morning California sunlight.

Kentucky Mists

2023-Feb-03 adohertyh3 Comments

Summer dawns are calm, gentle times in Midway, Kentucky—and when we’re in town for horse shows, you can bet we see a lot of them. I find it satisfying that the aerial view is just as relaxing and bucolic.

Dawn on the Shores of the South Elkhorn Creek

2022-Aug-12 adohertyhLeave a comment

Sunrise over northern Kentucky, when captured from a drone, seems to present layers on layers (creek/patio/driveways/vines/forest/interstate/forest/sky) that look like an ukiyo-e print.

Dawn on Interstate 64

2022-Aug-03 adohertyhLeave a comment

Good news, everyone! A new, much-lighter, yet equally capable drone (the DJI Mini 3 Pro) means aerial photography while traveling in a way that was never possible with my chunky Phantom 3.

In today’s image, northern Kentucky presents a classic American combination: old barns and farms, crossed by the monolithic expanse of the Interstate system.

Ship at Dawn

2022-Apr-182022-Apr-17 adohertyhLeave a comment

Strange sunlight geometries at dawn make for rare reflections on the hull of this ship.

Dawn at the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge

2022-Mar-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

I was back in California this week—sneaking some early-morning photography before the events of the 263rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society began. The underside of the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge reflected the sunrise and showed off the arc of its structure.

SoFi Stadium at Dawn

2021-Dec-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

Sunrise over Los Angeles and SoFi Stadium; time to say goodbye to 2021. See you in the new year!

Napa Stone

2020-Oct-302020-Oct-29 adohertyhLeave a comment

In the weirder hills of the Bay Area, back yard detritus falls alongside stones pulled into position by ancient glaciers.

Grape Processing

2020-Sep-072020-Sep-06 adohertyhLeave a comment

Dawn in Napa brings the kinds of landscapes, with layer upon layer of hills and fields and trees, that I associate with prints of impressionist oil paintings scattered around the average home in the late twentieth century.

Sunshower Tower

2017-Mar-012017-Mar-01 adohertyhLeave a comment

Monster-smash rain storms the night before left me surprised when this Sunday morning broad blue skies and linear sunlight to reflect from every surface in Berkeley. The Campanile (a.k.a. Sather Tower) was looking particularly proud of itself.

All Things In Alignment

2016-Oct-242016-Oct-25 adohertyh1 Comment

When St. Lawrence’s newest dorm, Kirk Douglas Hall, was designed, its dramatic glass bridge was brought into alignment with the Avenue of the Elms and gap between Richardson Hall and Gunnison Chapel. When the sun rises over the North Country landscape, I am drawn to the focused geometry of the landscape. (And glad I awoke to fly my quadcopter.)