The Rising Sun

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 15, 2011345 views16 comments

My wife and I were vacationing on Maui last week. We watched the terrible events as they unfolded over live TV, and then the evacuation sirens started going off around 11 pm. We decided to drive to the summit of Haleakala for the sunrise, since we would probably be spending the night in our car, anyway.

This was a particularly sublime but solemn sunrise. The Pacific Ocean, obscured by clouds, was wreaking havoc below.

There is awesome beauty and peacefulness in Mother Nature, and at times, gut-wrenching tragedy.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 15, 2011 at 6:03 AM

Magnificent sunset, Jason! It has a beautiful yet foreboding feel at the same time (the dark bottom and dark cumulus on the left side contribute) which is appropriate given the circumstances. I could be wrong, but it seems like a slight CW tilt.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on March 15, 2011 at 7:24 AM

Lovely sunrise Jason, the sea of clouds is great and provides a really nice mood to the image. Like Stan It hink it has a slight rotation.

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on March 15, 2011 at 9:33 AM

Beautiful..... and a touch of brooding storm-gathering mood. A lot to enjoy.

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on March 15, 2011 at 10:05 AM

Beautiful sunrise. The clouds are great with the silhouette of the land. Not too often you get to see the clouds from above.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 15, 2011 at 10:33 AM

I really like the vibrant colors of the sunrise and the layers of tones. It is sobering at times that when it seems the most peaceful, that events as world changing as the earthquake can happen.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 15, 2011 at 10:36 AM

Like the saturation of colors and the textures in the clouds, A very peaceful image for the circumstances. Nicely done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Kennedy on March 15, 2011 at 12:25 PM

Hi Jason! Its important to find beauty during a tragic events, and you found it here. Very nice capture.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 79 Posts, 676 Comments

Comment posted by David Moynahan on March 15, 2011 at 12:28 PM

Spectacular, but, oh, what a circumstance. Seeing this was the silver lining in that tragedy.

Registered on December 11, 2010, 11 Posts, 77 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on March 15, 2011 at 8:30 PM

Beautiful sunrise, the only thing I wish for is more seperation between the peak in the lower left and the mountain behind it, everything kind of blends together in that corner. Nonetheless, it's a great shot!

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by INGOMA on March 15, 2011 at 10:12 PM

Hi Jason,

What a poignant story. I am stunned and terrified by the devastation that has been going on in Japan.

I can imagine this must have been a wonderful moment, with the beautiful sky and the cloud bank.

Regards,
Christoph

Registered on July 2, 2004, 231 Posts, 3110 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Lou on March 15, 2011 at 10:37 PM

Sunrise at Haleakala is one of most memorable natural event I have witnessed. Star glazing is equally spectacular.

Registered on August 3, 2010, 86 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Risinger on March 15, 2011 at 11:42 PM

Wonderful job representing this exquisite, awe-inspiring view. I sorta see the CW tilt, but it doesn't bother me. What really impresses me about your composition choice is to let the silhouettes of the foreground peaks simply set the stage for this magnificent light show. There is just enough there to be effective.

Echoing Zack's comment, I think if you *very* slightly make a little more separation between the largest peak and the space beyond, this would be note-perfect. It's pretty darn close as it is.

Registered on July 13, 2010, 13 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on March 16, 2011 at 12:30 AM

I thought Hawaii as soon as I saw this. That is some special clean light up there. Nice how the cloud is covering the sun.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Kim on March 16, 2011 at 1:44 AM

Thanks everyone for your comments. I rotated the image a degree CW to balance out the silhouetted foreground, and I didn't really notice the clouds along the horizon until you mentioned it. I'd agree with Zack's comment - I think I can find some more detail in that bottom left area to help bring out some separation there. Thanks.

Registered on July 1, 2006, 60 Posts, 1233 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on March 16, 2011 at 1:36 PM

Something very elemental and awesome about this image.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 16, 2011 at 11:02 PM

Poignant image, Jason. I like the layering here, and could see maybe working to make the separation of the mountains and clouds a bit clearer in the lower left.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments