Epic Sunrise
Photograph by Chris Johns
While visiting St. Augustine to see my family for Thanksgiving in 2020, I woke up early one morning to try to catch a nice sunrise at the St. Augustine pier. I brought my camera on the off chance that the conditions lined up for a photogenic sunrise. Little did I know that I would be treated to one of the most spectacular sunrises I've ever witnessed in person. I got there before dawn and could tell the morning had potential as there was plenty of cloud cover that could catch and broadcast the early morning light. As it turned out, the sunrise progressed through multiple dramatic, colorful phases. I captured hundreds of photos, captivated by every moment of the brilliant, colorful evolution from night to day. In the end, I settled on this photograph, as opposed to a traditional under-pier shot (of which I took many). I love this photo because of the motion and the dramatic colors. The sharp, relatively stationary foam bubbles in the foreground provides and anchor which grabs my attention while the motion of the retreating water pulls me attention deeper into the photo to the burst of color painted across the clouds radiating out from the sunrise. The image is capped off by the solitary, silhouetted observer bearing witness to the spectacle. The motion, colors, and subtle human element work together to make this one of my favorite photos.
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