An evening of completely clouded over skies gave way briefly to a cluster of stars before calling it a night and hoping the following morning would fare better. A flicker of light pierced my eyes as I tossed and turned and noticed one of the others I was with was already awake and getting reading to head out for sunrise. Having not been able to scout out the area I wanted to shoot for sunrise in time, I decided to wander towards the peaks so they didn't appear so small through the camera. I found a nice grouping of cholla cacti and decided to set up the camera. The sky was looking good enough without any light breaking through. Really dark and moody with plenty of texture and form. The kind of skies I have come to love and enjoy photographing. As official sunrise came near, a brief, and I mean very brief display of pink appeared in the clouds around the peaks. I thought surely this was the start of an incredible sunrise. However, as often happens, I hope for the best and am often shut out from anything that I would make me do my happy dance. Alas, I was in the desert surrounded by cacti and stunning mountains, a landscape I have grown to love and appreciate day by day. Despite the familiar landscape, it was all so foreign to me. A place I had never explored, I just kept going deeper and deeper towards the peaks. Finally, I wandered up the ridge line I wanted to shoot sunrise from, and admired the incredible views from the top. I will surely be returning here to explore much more of this place.
Hope
