Yesterday was one of those very rare mornings at sunrise when the sky lights up and paints an incredible picture.  It was SO worth getting my butt out of bed at oh-dark-thirty! 

Later when I was processing the images I just kept thinking what a blessing it was this morning… so I had to share. 

It felt warm out at 68 degrees with a slight humid breeze… odd for December as a cold front approached the Carolina's from the northwest. It was great conditions for shooting and not another person on the beach.

I’d been to this same location dozens of times.  Driving down there in the dark, I was watching the sky… the stars… the clouds trying to determine if the sky would break just right and at the same moment that the sun cracks the horizon.  Would it be cloudy out there over the ocean?  Would the clouds appear just enough to hold some colors and light, but not so much that it would be just another gray morning?  A cloudless sky makes for rather boring sunrise shots.  Would the fog roll in?  Would the tides be low enough to see the Coquina Rocks?  My iPhone app told me low tide was at 4:30 AM and sunrise was at 7:03 AM on a rising tide.  These same thoughts run through my head during every predawn drive to the beach.

…Well yesterday was thee day that all of the elements lined up just right...

I was blessed with some great color!