Rising early isn’t my greatest strength but recently, I packed the photo backpack in the evening thinking that, if I’d wake up early, I would head out to nearby Lake Hodges, which is just a 10 minute drive, and walk up to “that hill” overlooking the lake.
This re-visit was long overdue of course, and that old post contains a photo of the group of sycamore trees which I’m also showing here… except that the sycamores are still rather bare, right now. Here are two, one before sunrise, and the next one when the first direct light makes it into this little ravine and just begins to illuminate the top part of the trees.
(on phones, rotating the device to a horizontal orientation might help with the detail)
A group of still bare sycamore trees in spring at dawn, Rancho Bernardo, California; March 2023.
First light illuminates the twigs and branches of bare sycamore trees in spring, Rancho Bernardo, California; March 2023.
In the old blog post, I also mentioned a knoll with some boulders and shrubs, and how I had botched the exposure because it requires a longer lens. With enough care and “Big Bertha” I made two photos, similar to the pair above — before sunrise, and with the first direct light. What’s especially nice here is the fog of course, that got “a boost” from the sun, which lifted it higher up, completely obscuring the background that is still visible in the pre-sunrise photo:
Coastal sage scrub on a spring morning before sunrise, at Lake Hodges, Rancho Bernardo, California; March 2023.
First light and rising fog on a knoll with granite boulders and shrubs in spring at Lake Hodges, Rancho Bernardo, California; March 2023.
There are some other interesting things that can be photographed from this location with a longer focal length. These tall bare trees are across the lake, where Felicita Creek enters Lake Hodges, and the little bit of morning fog with first light really made for a most lovely appearance when I zoomed in all the way, at 500mm:
Bare willows in morning fog at first light, Lake Hodges, Rancho Bernardo, California; March 2023.
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I’m hoping to be out there again and watch as both the sycamores and these willows will begin to show the first new leaves of spring, but alas, the weather hasn’t been cooperating! Obviously, we should never complain about rain and clouds in Southern California, but for these photos, sunny and clear skies would actually work better. We had rain at the end of last week and into the weekend, a marine layer today, and it will rain again Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s a really, really beautiful spring already, and with the additional rain, I think it’ll be really amazing — and after a couple of dry winters in a row, we really deserve it! 😉
I’m very fond of that knoll – what beautiful fog you had that morning! And I think I prefer the first photo because the background gives more context. Good idea to pack things up the night before even when you didn’t have a definite plan – you’re off the hook if you sleep later but ready to go is you get up early. :-)
It’s my photography project I think — I’m trying to get out there once a week as spring progresses, to make sunrise photos. The little knoll will surely be overtaken by the invasive black mustard in no time now, but the group of sycamores is actually the main attraction to me. :)