Rookie Mistake at Sunrise

One day in mid February, I decided that it was time to go out for sunrise. I hadn’t done a sunrise photoshoot since before Christmas, so it was very much overdue. But it was a short trip due to a rookie mistake.

The conditions weren’t exactly ideal, but they hadn’t been for a long time, so I decided to go anyway. While I was waiting for my coffee to warm up, I checked the temperature…it was -2* Fahrenheit. I almost reconsidered, but by then I was already awake. So, I bundled up and headed out the door.

I went to Asylum Bay with the intention of getting a photo of the early morning sun on the lighthouse from the frozen lake. When I go there, I was lucky to get a parking spot; there were so many people out ice fishing.

The sun wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be for my intended composition, so I walked a little ways on the ice just to take a look. I found a potential photo, so I started setting up my tripod. It didn’t take me long to get it at the height I wanted it at. But it was long enough. Just as I was attaching my camera, I heard the ice shift.

I never moved so fast that early in the morning before in my life. It wasn’t the best time to go for a swim, and I had all of my camera gear on me as well. But I wasn’t ready to give up on that image.

When I got back to shore, I considered my options, and decided to risk the shot. I ditched my backpack with all of my gear and I quickly went back to take the photo. Once I got it, I headed toward the lighthouse.

The sun was still pretty low on the horizon, so I didn’t get the glow that I was hoping for, but I took the photo anyway. I wanted to take several, and as I attempted to take another one, but my battery died. Again. Remember all those batteries that I was charging from my previous post? Well, I left them all at home. I can’t believe I made this mistake again.

Since there was nothing more I could do, and the sun wasn’t in a good place anyway, I headed back home. Before I left, I took out the battery so I could recharge it before I forgot. And once I got home, I put my fully charged batteries in the upper compartment of my backpack. I wasn’t going to be caught with dead batteries again.