A sunrise in the mountains is different than it is on sea level. Depending on where you are in the mountains, it can take another 30 to 60 minutes for the sun to rise over the mountain after it comes up over the sea level horizon.
The colors are more muted because the valley wasn’t awash in bright sunlight yet. At sea level, the would have been filled with light, seemingly all at once. But in the mountains, the sunrise seemed to progress more slowly as the light gradually fills the valley. That is what happened on this day. It made for a marvelous transformation!
Many of my best photographs are taken before sunrise when the light is changing rapidly. In the mountains, I have even more time to capture magical light of the sun because of the length of time it takes to rise over the mountains.
Please visit Beautiful Sun Photography to see more of my sunrise (and sunset shots), both in the mountains and on the Great Lakes.
Beautiful Sun Adventures is created by Deb Beausoleil, a landscape photographer living in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her photography can be viewed (and purchased!) at her website, Beautiful Sun Photography.