Morning Light

 

Even before the sun comes over the horizon early risers find wondrous compositions in the sky.

A bit later, before the landscape is intensely illuminated, the sun's rays backlight delicate features with translucent effects.

Areas still in shadow present an inky contrast to the luminous patterns overhead.

Low-angled light washes some faces of the quarry walls and throws adjacent ones into shadow, making abstract patterns of the facades.

Turning around and peering into the brightness it's difficult to distinguish color and detail. Our eyes see scintillations and silhouettes.

These sensory challenges can simulate wintry visions on a pleasant spring morning.

Gradually the rising sun warms the colors of the day.

Within a few hours of dawn the colors attain their greatest richness before being washed out by solar glare, the source and arbiter of light.