Cattails by pond at dawn
Twice in the fall of 2014 I pulled a Steve Gingold by going out in the dark before dawn to places where I could get in position for daybreak. Last year I showed a picture from the first of those two sessions but none from the other. Here, then, on the one-year anniversary of that second dawn expedition, is a photograph taken at a pond on the eastern side of Buda, a rapidly growing town south-southwest of Austin. Cattails (Typha domingensis) stood between the water and me.
© 2015 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
wowww
elyaslinley
October 27, 2015 at 5:37 AM
It was a wonderful sight.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:05 AM
better than that
elyaslinley
October 27, 2015 at 6:43 PM
Perfect. There’s just enough light for some detail, and just enough mist for effect. The silence seems palpable.
shoreacres
October 27, 2015 at 5:50 AM
As a photographer I normally crave light, but in this case having just enough light for a faint image carried the day (figuratively and literally).
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:09 AM
Sometimes it’s worth getting up early for these shots. Very pretty
norasphotos4u
October 27, 2015 at 6:01 AM
It was definitely worth it, yet I haven’t gone out that early again in the year since then.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:14 AM
Inspiring. By looking at the world through that parameter, dawn, it is interesting to study the differences found in our great land. Dawn in the middle might be a nice addition but don’t look at me to provide that! 🙂
melissabluefineart
October 27, 2015 at 7:03 AM
Maybe you could manage to stay awake long enough through the night (especially helped along by Nurse Caffeine), rather than going to sleep and then getting up very early for the new day.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:19 AM
Sleep? who needs sleep?
melissabluefineart
October 28, 2015 at 9:40 AM
You mean you do?
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2015 at 9:42 AM
I seem to recall it was nice…
melissabluefineart
October 28, 2015 at 9:44 AM
And hopefully shall be again.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Amen to that!
melissabluefineart
October 28, 2015 at 9:58 AM
Exquisite! You have indeed pulled a Steve Gingold.
Gallivanta
October 27, 2015 at 7:09 AM
I appreciate your confirmation. Thanks.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:20 AM
Beautiful, Steve! It looks mysterious and a little chilly and not a landscape picture that would usually spring to mind if someone mentioned Texas to me. Light changes everything…
Jane
October 27, 2015 at 8:16 AM
I think it must have been a bit chilly that early on a late-October morning, though I can’t remember whether I wore a light jacket. The lack of light made for a mysterious image, but I carried a small flashlight so I could see where I was going in the dark and keep from tripping over something that I wouldn’t have wanted to remain a mystery. So yes, light changes everything. (And now I can’t help hearing “Love Changes Everything,” with lyrics by Charles Hart and Don Black, and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.)
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 8:31 AM
Well, love and light both have great potential to transform don’t they and some would argue that love can bring light and vice versa. Isn’t it wonderful how a photograph or other piece of artwork can stimulate conversations about all sorts of thing. Art has power too… 🙂
Jane
October 27, 2015 at 8:50 AM
We post our pictures, often unaware of what they’ll arouse: sometimes not much, other times a lot, and not always in a direction we would have expected the conversation to go. More power to pictures…
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 3:14 PM
What a wonderful shot Steve!
marksshoesbyevamarks
October 27, 2015 at 1:04 PM
I was pleased with it, Eva.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 1:18 PM
You captured such a marvelous part of the day, one of the real treats in life is to watch the sunrise.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
October 27, 2015 at 3:53 PM
It’s not unusual for me to see parts of the sunrise through the trees outside the window where I’m sitting at my computer now, but rarely have I gone out into nature for a sunrise. I’m glad I did so twice last fall.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 4:25 PM
Liquid loveliness …
Julie@frogpondfarm
October 27, 2015 at 5:18 PM
That’s a pretty description.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 5:22 PM
This is very nice, Steve. Wonderful serenity to it. I think you should change your body clock around and get out early more often.
Steve Gingold
October 27, 2015 at 7:17 PM
Serenity strikes me as the right word for this view.
Getting up that early every once in a while is okay, but I don’t know that my body and brain could adjust to doing it regularly. It seems to work fine for you.
Steve Schwartzman
October 27, 2015 at 9:01 PM
Beautiful shot Steve! I love the atmospheric moodiness conveyed in the scene!
Michael Glover
October 27, 2015 at 11:17 PM
Ah, yes, a little atmospheric moodiness is a great way to start the day.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2015 at 6:47 AM
Beautiful!
photoleaper
October 28, 2015 at 2:27 AM
I was happy to be able to record the scene.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2015 at 6:48 AM