Mike Powell

I am finally more or less caught up with my photos from my road trip to Seattle and back. Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the trip, when I captured the sunrise on 5 November at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. It was dark and cold when I crawled out of my sleeping bag that morning, but I really wanted to try to see the sunrise.

The sun rises and sets each day, but each one is unique, affected by a whole host of uncontrollable factors, including meteorological conditions and the landscape. Sometimes the sun arrives slowly and subtly and sometimes it explodes into view. Professional landscape photographers scout locations in advance and figure out the optimal locations to catch the sunrise. I simply got into my car and began to drive slowly on the road through the park.

As I was driving I came upon this view as I rounded a corner just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Results are unpredictable when you point your camera directly at the sun, but somehow I managed to get it almost right in the first shot below—well at least I got a cool image that I like. When I moved the camera to the side a little so the sun was no longer in the frame, I was able to capture the final photo. I really like the sort of layering in the background, as the sun painted the various land features.

I am not sure if I will do a posting tomorrow, when those of us in the United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving. In case there is posting tomorrow, let me thank all of you now who pause for a moment to look at my photos or read my rambling prose. Thanks for all of your support and encouragement over the years.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.