One of our big rocks here in the Sawtooths has been to catch a sunrise over Stanley Lake.
0500 wakeup, coffee, make extra coffee, car, brrrr, lake, cold tripod, wait for sunrise.
Quick tip – Stanley is one of the coldest places in the lower 48, with over 270 nights every year below freezing.
Still water, birds everywhere, the sky slowly lightens.
Sip more coffee while watching puffs of our warm breath in the sub-freezing temperatures by the lake.
Slowly the magic happens.
The sky changes from black to grey to shades of purple and maroon.
Birds glide by low and slow across the surface of the lake. More coffee.
Finally the tip of McGown Peak lights up as the first rays of sun hit it, then the entire range is lit up above Stanley Lake.
The wind picks up, ruining any more reflection photos, but the scenery is so amazing here that it just doesn’t matter.
Put the camera away, sit down, sip some more coffee. This is definitely worth an early morning start.
Purple Sunrise
The sunrise over Stanley Lake is definitely worth waking up early for! 30 seconds @ F4, B&W 110M ND3.0
Dressed For Morning
The Stanley area of Idaho has 270 days a year below freezing, and is one of the coldest places in the Continental U.S.
We Love The Green
Coming from Colorado where we have lots of shades of yellow and brown, we find the green and green and green here to be pretty amazing.
Sunrise Documented
Colette does a much better documentary than I do…
