I used to be one of those people who could easily sleep till 10 in the morning on weekends. But in the last 10 years I have gradually changed. At some point I started to have trouble sleeping till after 9, then 8, and now 7. I get up at 7 on weekdays and have done so for decades, but now I find it really hard to sleep till after 7 even on weekends.

I think I’m at the point where I can no longer claim to be someone who has trouble getting up in the morning. That has always been my excuse to myself when I have refrained from doing morning photography. Getting out in the woods in the morning and taking advantage of the morning light, is part of the job description for any outdoor photographer, amateur or professionel. But I have very rarely pulled myself together to do it. Not because I don’t find it worhtwhile when I do go out in the morning, but because I’m too lazy… and because I liked to sleep in.

Until now.

I no longer need to sleep in. I do just fine getting up early in the morning. So yesterday I got up at my usual 7 o’clock, but instead of settling into my chair with a book and a cup of coffee, I donned my outdoor gear, grabbed my camera bag, and left the house at 7.30.

One of the reasons I had already made the decision to do this the night before, was that the weather forecast pretty consistently predicted fog in the morning. And as anybody knows, fog and morning light is a devine combination for photography. So that was an extra motivating factor. However, as the sun rose above the horizon and I drove to my destination, a forest 15 minutes away, there was absolutely no indication of fog. The metheologists were wrong again. But, I was up, I was ready, and I was determined to make the best of whatever conditions were waiting for me.

Well, I will let the images tell the rest of the story. Needless to say I had a blast and took some pictures that I was really happy with. The forest was quiet, cool, and full of the most gorgeous golden light, and with fall colors starting to appear.

All that was left to do was pull my camera out and capture it…