It was on a morning like this that I was once again reminded why I do miss living in the mountains.

I just got back from a family trip to Utah where we spent the last few days. While the trip was mostly family rather than photography oriented, I did manage to get out and shoot outdoors on a couple of occasions so I will share the photos from the trip in the next little while.

This particular image was taken on Monday at sunrise. I think I figured out an easy solution of how to get up at 5am to capture a scene like this, and it is to sleep on a couch the night before. It worked and I woke up without an alarm (sleeping on a couch is a burden) to drive up to the Provo canyon with this image in mind. I had no expectation about the great light, because recently it mostly alluded me, and I almost thought I’d have no chance for anything to happen until suddenly, after I already been around the lake for about an hour, my favorite mountain, Mt Timpanogos, began glowing with an alpenglow, which is an optical phenomenon that’s sometimes seen at high altitudes when the sun is just below the horizon. It only lasts a few minutes, but luckily, I already had my camera set up in the exact spot where I wanted it and I was able to record this scene.

More to come.