Waking up at 5am on a Saturday morning is never fun. Instead of staying all warm and cozy in my nice bed I was up and out the door to meet Willie and Alan to photograph sunrise. On the drive to San Francisco we noticed some really nice thin clouds in the sky and we had a feeling it would be worth the early wake-up! There was a slight debate about where to photograph the sunrise. The clouds were located to the north east of the city and we decided to plant ourselves west … that meant crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading over to Hawk Hill. Although we had arrived early, we got out of the car and saw that clouds already had a beautiful purple glow caused by the lights from San Francisco. Racing to find a spot we setup our tripods and started clicking away. Boy were we in for a treat! Photographing while the sun was below the horizon enabled us to capture this scene with the combination of the city lights, the beautiful red glow of the bridge, and the warm colorful tones in the sky. As the sun rose closer to the horizon, the lights in the city faded, the bridge turned dark, and the clouds lost their purple glow. And then they lit up! First slight oranges and yellows were visible, then brilliant pinks and reds. As the sun peaked itself over the horizon the color faded and tule fog began to roll in. Our early morning wake-up was worth the beautiful morning! Despite the explosion of color towards the latter part of the sunrise, I decided I liked my earliest photographs the best. Here the city lights are visible, the bridge has its wonderful golden hue, and the water reflects the light. I also chose a 2x1 panoramic crop because it limited the amount of noise above and below the photo (empty sky above and trees below). I named this photo "City's Embrace" because I like the way that the bridge hugs the city. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/9, 1/3 sec“, ISO 250 HiTech 0.9 Reverse ND Grad

Version with the trees not cloned out. Waking up at 5am on a Saturday morning is never fun. Instead of staying all warm and cozy in my nice bed I was up and out the door to meet Willie and Alan to photograph sunrise. On the drive to San Francisco we noticed some really nice thin clouds in the sky and we had a feeling it would be worth the early wake-up! There was a slight debate about where to photograph the sunrise. The clouds were located to the north east of the city and we decided to plant ourselves west … that meant crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading over to Hawk Hill. Although we had arrived early, we got out of the car and saw that clouds already had a beautiful purple glow, caused by the lights from nearby San Francisco. Racing to find a spot we setup our tripods and started clicking away. Boy were we in for a treat! With the sun below the horizon we were able to make out the lights of the city, the beautiful red glow of the bridge, and warm colorful tones in the sky. As the sun rose closer to the horizon, the lights in the city faded, the bridge turned dark, and the clouds lost their purple glow. And then they lit up! First slight oranges and yellows were visible, then brilliant pinks and reds. As the sun peaked itself over the horizon the color faded and tule fog began to roll in. Our early morning wake-up was worth the beautiful morning! Despite the explosion of color towards the latter part of the sunrise, I decided I liked my earliest photographs the best. Here the city lights are visible, the bridge has its wonderful golden hue, and the water reflects the light. I also chose a 2x1 panoramic crop because it limited the amount of noise above and below the photo (empty sky above and trees below). Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/9, ⅓ sec“, ISO 250 HiTech 0.9 Reverse ND Grad

Original crop Waking up at 5am on a Saturday morning is never fun. Instead of staying all warm and cozy in my nice bed I was up and out the door to meet Willie and Alan to photograph sunrise. On the drive to San Francisco we noticed some really nice thin clouds in the sky and we had a feeling it would be worth the early wake-up! There was a slight debate about where to photograph the sunrise. The clouds were located to the north east of the city and we decided to plant ourselves west … that meant crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading over to Hawk Hill. Although we had arrived early, we got out of the car and saw that clouds already had a beautiful purple glow, caused by the lights from nearby San Francisco. Racing to find a spot we setup our tripods and started clicking away. Boy were we in for a treat! With the sun below the horizon we were able to make out the lights of the city, the beautiful red glow of the bridge, and warm colorful tones in the sky. As the sun rose closer to the horizon, the lights in the city faded, the bridge turned dark, and the clouds lost their purple glow. And then they lit up! First slight oranges and yellows were visible, then brilliant pinks and reds. As the sun peaked itself over the horizon the color faded and tule fog began to roll in. Our early morning wake-up was worth the beautiful morning! Despite the explosion of color towards the latter part of the sunrise, I decided I liked my earliest photographs the best. Here the city lights are visible, the bridge has its wonderful golden hue, and the water reflects the light. I also chose a 2x1 panoramic crop because it limited the amount of noise above and below the photo (empty sky above and trees below). Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/9, ⅓ sec“, ISO 250 HiTech 0.9 Reverse ND Grad

On this particular morning I woke early and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to photograph sunrise. I met up with Willie and Alan and we found a spot that we liked near Hawk Hill. Instantly we realized that the clouds we had spotted on the drive over were already glowing. The sun wasn't up but apparently the lights from the city were enough to give the clouds a purple glaze. When the sun finally did rise high enough these clouds blew up with color, but by this time the city lights were no longer visible and the bridge became dark behind the bright sky. I took a number of photos during this sunrise and at one point I took 12 images that I stitched into a 192 megapixel panorama. Ultimately I decided to pull out this crop because I liked how it highlighted the clouds, the north tower, and part of the city. You can even make out a hint of the bridges reflection in the water. This crop ultimately left me with a 39 megapixel image, which you see here. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 70mm, f/11, 8 sec, ISO 250 HiTech 0.9 Reverse ND Grad

Here you can see the clouds are started to burn with color

As the sun rose in the sky the clouds started to take on orange, pink and yellow colors

Here you can see how the sky exploded with pinks, oranges, and yellow. So beuatiful, but the city and bridge is dark.

This is a 182 megapixel panorama that I stitched together from 12 images and cropped. Ultimately I did not choose this photo because the glow in the water had already faded. Waking up at 5am on a Saturday morning is never fun. Instead of staying all warm and cozy in my nice bed I was up and out the door to meet Willie and Alan to photograph sunrise. On the drive to San Francisco we noticed some really nice thin clouds in the sky and we had a feeling it would be worth the early wake-up! There was a slight debate about where to photograph the sunrise. The clouds were located to the north east of the city and we decided to plant ourselves west … that meant crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading over to Hawk Hill. Although we had arrived early, we got out of the car and saw that clouds already had a beautiful purple glow, caused by the lights from nearby San Francisco. Racing to find a spot we setup our tripods and started clicking away. Boy were we in for a treat! With the sun below the horizon we were able to make out the lights of the city, the beautiful red glow of the bridge, and warm colorful tones in the sky. As the sun rose closer to the horizon, the lights in the city faded, the bridge turned dark, and the clouds lost their purple glow. And then they lit up! First slight oranges and yellows were visible, then brilliant pinks and reds. As the sun peaked itself over the horizon the color faded and tule fog began to roll in. Our early morning wake-up was worth the beautiful morning! Despite the explosion of color towards the latter part of the sunrise, I decided I liked my earliest photographs the best. Here the city lights are visible, the bridge has its wonderful golden hue, and the water reflects the light. I also chose a 2x1 panoramic crop because it limited the amount of noise above and below the photo (empty sky above and trees below). Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/9, ⅓ sec“, ISO 250 HiTech 0.9 Reverse ND Grad