Sunday, June 11, 2006

Dawn of time

Cave Point in Door County, Wisconsin is an outcropping of limestone rock extending into the waters of Lake Michigan. Its ledges and bluff are worn from the relentless pounding of the wind and waves.

I have made the predawn journey to this place many times in the course of the past several years, hoping to catch the first light of day on the ragged rocks. Each time, clouds obscured the rising sun. Photos taken at non-sunny sunrises can be seen here and here. This time the weather cooperated and I was rewarded for having arrived at 4:30 a.m.

Recent rains had filled the hollows of the rocky ledge, creating reflecting pools for the morning light and contributing to an otherworldly image. An exposure time of about 20 seconds turned the choppy lake waters into a swirling haze. I like to imagine that the dawn of day three of creation looked something like this.

Photo taken with circular polarizing filter and 2x graduated neutral density filter. 20 seconds at f22, ISO 100 film. Curves adjustments and overall color saturation added. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think I spy a small salamanderesque creature emerging from one of those puddles . . . . he is my father.

Anonymous said...

Love this shot! Hope you had a great anniversary! Mine will only be 7 years this year - have a way to go to catch you up! ; )

James said...

glenn, I never took you for an evolutionist! Are you sure about the salamander?

philb, we had a great time this past weekend. Hang on, 28 will get you before you know what happened.

Anonymous said...

That landscape reminds me a bit of the Flaggy Shore, where the Burren rolls into Galway Bay. Lake Michigan doesn't seem so far away after all...