It was hard to choose one time of day that I like most. I really find nighttime to be beautiful, especially in the summer, with the star-filled skies and lightning bugs in the field out front of our home, but there is something special and peaceful about the time around 30 minutes before to an hour after sunrise. Just in general, it is kind of neat to be awake and watching the sun actually rise in the morning. It makes me feel like I have a full day ahead of me and I just feel refreshed and calm when I see the sunrise (especially on the beach!). Secondly, as a wildlife photographer, lighting is key. Photographing animals midday can be less fruitful than sunrise and late afternoon/early evening/close to sunset because of the lighting. Midday light is harsh and casts undesirable shadows and blown out highlights. However, early morning sunrise light gives a beautifully rich and warm glow to whatever subject I’m observing and photographing. I decided to depict this light through a collage I threw together of photos taken at Tuesday morning’s sunrise. The subjects are adorable Piping Plovers, a threatened and protected shorebird species in Maine. I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to go watch the sunrise at Old Orchard Beach and photograph these special little birds with the beautiful warm light of a Maine summer sunrise.

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