A Thousand Suns
A Look Back at Photographing 100 Sunrises for The Day That
Not many people can say they have seen one thousand sunrises in their lifetime, I can.
Before I start I must make a few things clear, I can't be sure how many sunrises I have seen. I have photographed roughly 175 dawns a year for The Day That, and I have been there for 6 years. Adding on other sunrises I have seen for other photographic purposes, it's safe to assume that I have reached this incredible landmark.
Also, when I say sunrise, what I mean is dawn, or golden hour. I have photographed in wind and rain, and on beautifully colourful days with clouds in the sky. Seeing the sun pop over the horizon was not always possible, but I was there, and so was the sun... somewhere...
Having seen so many sunrises, I tell others that my threshold for what makes a good sunrise is now pretty high, the question that normally follows is, do I still remember my favourite sunrise. The answer is yes, 23rd November 2011.
23rd November 2011.
It was early on with The Day That and this was one of the first sunrises I photographed. I had been advised by my colleagues Gavan Goulder and Chris Webber, that Porth Kidney Beach would be a good place to go, a Cornish Beach that can be a great location for sunrise photography. . So under the supervision of Chris, I headed to Porth Kidney Beach to make the most of the low tide, knowing that the wet sand is a great way to create symmetrical patterns and double up on colour.
I knew that I was seeing a stunning sunrise, but with my inexperience, I assumed that there must be a sunrise as beautiful as this on a weekly basis. 6 Years later, nothing has come close to the palette of colours ranging from bold to soft, light and dark, that were on display that day.
The pictures above are of this incredible morning.
The golden hour, during either sunrise or sunset is what drives me to create more and more pieces of work, those that know me well would have seen how much I can't escape this magical display of the sky. During the golden hour, it is not uncommon for me to make plans to fit around this frame of time, or even stopping mid conversation to go and look out the window, to see what I am potentially missing out on.
Having seen so many sunrises, you would think there would be nothing new left for me to see. But I am constantly surprised out how a sunrise evolves during a shoot, a grey blanket cloud can suddenly turn into an explosion of depth and colour, and a burning red glow can fade in an instant.
These dramatic changes keep me on my toes with landscape and seascape photography. Particularly with seascape photography, it is a fine balance between, weather, time of year, the tide and luck. To consistently take beautiful photographs of the sunrise is a challenge and one as a photographer you may never truly master. This is why I love it. It is, and always will be an evolving challenge in which you must study your surroundings on the ground, in the water and in the sky.
Kieran Brimson.
