Like many other mornings on vacation, I left the hotel room around 5:00am in hopes of finding a great sunrise location. On this, my first day in Big Bend, I was not disappointed. Stunning sunrises are virtually non-existent in Illinois as we lack the atmospheric conditions and altitude necessary to create skies such as this.

I setup my camera in the dark aided by a headlamp and could see the bands of clouds over the dark mountains. All of the elements were in place for the rising sun and what unfolded was behind my highest hopes. The golden sunrise on the horizon painted a kaleidoscope of red, orange, pink and purple on the underside of the clouds overhead and there were stunning views in every direction.

I had the place to myself until the brilliant colored clouds transitioned to gray against a pale blue sky. It was then that two other photographers arrived, seemingly happy by the small amount of color in the skies that remained. I didn't have the heart to tell them what they had missed...

Canon EOS 5D, Tamron 28-105 f/2.8, SP Aspherical LD @ 48mm, 1/15 sec @f/9, ISO equiv 640, Calumet 8000 Carbon Fiber Tripod, Gitzo G1276 Ballhead, Color Efex Pro