What I Learned from Waking Up for Sunrise Every Day for a Week
Hey friends,
The hardest thing in landscape photography for me is getting up for sunrise. I’m a sunset guy through and through, even though I know sunrises are slightly better – not only is the light awesome but there’s also probably no one else at the location.
I’m somewhat ashamed to admit it but I think I only photographed sunrise once or twice so far this year. That is, before the last week’s photo trip to Scotland.
Ryan – my buddy I went with – is an early riser and would relentlessly head out to shoot every single morning on that trip. Naturally, I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun, so I would drag myself out of the bed and follow suit. I won’t lie, it was tough. But here’s what I learned.
#1. Peer Pressure Helps
It is much easier to wake up when there’s peer pressure. Not that Ryan insisted – he would totally just go out on his own. Still, I somehow felt I would let him down by not coming along.
Besides, if you’re in photography for a while, you know how it often is. It is evening and you’re determined to get up for sunrise the next morning. But the alarm goes off and you sleep right through it. That sure happened to me on more than one occasion!
Well, doing so is much harder when there’s someone other than yourself who can hold you accountable. Interestingly, we are much less likely to break the word we gave somebody else than the one we gave ourselves.
#2. Naps are Life-savers
Getting up early and then going about your day as you would normally sounds great in theory but unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. The body needs sleep and it’ll claim it – one way or another. You can cheat it once, maybe twice, but you can’t escape the inevitable hard landing that follows.
Turns out, on a photography trip one of the best ways to restore energy is to have a nap during the day. Do the sunrise photoshoot, then get back to your hotel and go to bed for a couple of hours. It’s not the same as 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep but much better than no sleep at all.
It makes sense too. Sure, you take away some time from exploration and location-scouting. But on the other hand, you won’t be groggy for the rest of the day and will be ready to go again the following morning.
Waking up for sunrise every day for a week in Scotland really made me appreciate the beauty of naps. They’re awesome – use them!
#3. It is All Worth It
Perhaps the most obvious but also the most important lesson of all. Despite moaning and cursing and yawning and needing my coffee, I never once regretted waking up for a sunrise. We captured some incredible stuff in those early hours, stuff I would never have captured had I slept through it.
Some people never even have this problem – they just naturally wake up early. But for those of us who aren’t like that, it is worth remembering – mornings have a lot to offer. Especially if you’re a landscape photographer.
You don’t have to completely reorganize your life and your habits, but I do urge you to at least occasionally get out of the house early and check out what nature has in store for you. I guarantee it will be totally worth it.
Cheers,
– Alex
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One of my all-time favorite sunrise captures — an early morning on lake Wakatipu in Southern New Zealand. It was towards the end of the trip and I was growing tired. Waking up crazy early for a 45-minute drive didn’t sound like fun and I was ready to just skip it.
Luckily my wife convinced me to go (talk about peer pressure, huh), and I’m so glad she did. By the way, if you’re interested, I talk about this location and a few others in this article.
Quote of the Week
“There is a moment in every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath.”
― Douglas Adams