Sunrise No. 1,604 of 2,000+
- Sunrise time: 6:07
- Azimuth: 58° ⇡
- Did the sun rise: Yes
- Was the sun visible: No
This sunrise was published with support from Dianna H., thank you Dianna.
- Felt like: 63 ºF
- Air Temp: 63 ºF
- Humidity: 45%
- Wind: 11 mph ⇡
- Wind gust: 17 mph
Exposure
- 26mm
- f/4.5
- 1/80 sec
- 500
Shiras Park, Marquette, MI
0.3 mile commute
📍 46° 32' 55" N, -87° 22' 47" W
Musings [360 words]
If there is a prettiest sunrise, then there must also be an ugliest.
And this it it.
I felt it immediately. Seeing this dark orange and brown streak of stretch across the horizon. It was potent. I want to say it was so potent and thick that I could smell it in the air, that it made my eyes itch.
It’s not far fetched to say.
This was just the beginning, as 2023 became the largest Canadian forest fire season in recorded history.
This map shows the locations of Canadian forest fires on May 22. Really, the fires seem so far away, but when you realize the smoke plumes can reach all the way to Europe, your perspective changes a little.
By early summer I was seeing all sorts of articles about terrible air quality and how forest fire smoke was affecting lives. Suddenly, the idea of being able to smell it in the air didn’t seem so far fetched.
Yes, if there is a prettiest sunrise, there most also be an ugliest sunrise. The sunrise simply felt tarnished, polluted, stained. I struggle with how to describe this one, but it would become part of a season full of hazy horizons. This is something I’m now very mindful of, and expect every summer, but this wasn’t knowledge or an awareness that was missing when this project began in 2019.
I don’t subscribe to the wholesomeness and purity of the idea that “every sunrise is unique and beautiful.” Yes, certainly every sunrise can be beautiful to someone, and there is no shortage of beauty to be found. But just as in life, nature can also be ugly, nature can also be unpleasant. I don’t believe that we need to beautywash everything as it leads to toxic positivity, which is a detachment from our reality. It’s OK to accept that not every sunrise is beautiful, that not everything in nature is beautiful. Ugly can be a part of life, and we can find balance in that. Afterall, it makes the beauty that much more beautiful. This only elevates the experiences of others and we should experience the broadest range we’re capable of.
Outtakes
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Compare this to May 16.
I’m publishing this one well after, and my goodness are they similar. Usually, I would avoid publishing two photos so similar that are also so close to each other on the calendar (if I even notice it), but the addition of the forest fire smoke and freighter made for a really interesting contrast for me.
