I went back to Great Falls National Park, Virginia this morning with hopes of a spectacular sunrise thanks to a clearing storm (seems like a reoccurring theme for me). As I arrived, it began to rain! Deciding to stick it out until official sunrise time, I made long exposure images in early dawn darkness of overcast skies whipping past my camera, creating an ethereal look of blurred clouds. After that, I attempted to take some abstract images of the water. Nothing was really clicking, however … I couldn’t make a successful photograph. After feeling thoroughly bummed out, I noticed some pink glow on the land. As I looked upward, I was astonished to see a gorgeous sky full of menacing clouds of various shades of dark blue and magenta. While no light had gotten underneath the cloud bank, as the sun rose above the earth it cast its pink light onto the top of the thin clouds, lighting them from above! This light show lasted less than a minute, and within 15 minutes the entire bank of clouds had moved out, leaving behind a perfectly clear sky. I can’t stress it enough - one of the best ways to find interesting light is to be out there during the transition from stormy skies to clear skies and vice versa.

Clearing Storm at Sunrise, Great Falls National Park, Mclean, Virginia

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com