By Scott Shephard
Sunrise - Lake Oahe, South Dakota
There is nothing as redundant as a “clouds and water at sunrise/sunset” photo. We all have them and if you’re like me and have a hard time throwing pictures like this away, you probably have scores of them. And, like your clouds and water at sunrise/sunset” photos, this is one of those “you-had-to-be-here” photos, given that a picture like this represents a feeling more than a scene or location.
So what was I feeling when I composed this photo? I can’t say because I took this over 6 years ago. But I can guess . . .
On this morning there was a pristine silence, broken only by occasional birdsong, the sound of my breathing and the faint burble of the water I was heating on my sailboat’s stove. There was the first warmth of the mid-August Sun, who was as eager as I was to start another day. Beyond all of that, there was and certainly still is an embracing Spirit and Presence here that is hard to describe in words.
Yes, you should have been here with me.