In September of 2023 a friend, Denise, shared an image with me that she found on social media. It was 12 images stacked one above the other, of the sun just after sunrise. The images were taken one month apart, so you can see the progression of the earth’s relationship to the sun.

I took it as a dare. 

After researching locations with water and a way to setup on the west side of the lake. 
I found Sleepy Hollow State Park, which is only 45 miles away. There is a boat launch on Lake Ovid with multiple docks on the west side where I could set up facing east.

I began on September 23, 2023. Brian and I took a drive to the park, arriving in the dark. I scoped out the docks and chose the perfect location for what will be 12 setups. I marked my location in a notebook; lined up with the railing, facing due east, with my tripod set to a specific height. 

I set up my panoramic kit while we waited for the night sky become dawn and dawn become sunrise. Once the sun cleared the trees about 15 minutes after sunrise I began using the panoramic kit and took 20 shots every 10 degrees for a 200 degree panorama, giving myself some wiggle room.

Once completed we scoped out the rest of the park.

In processing the images I found it best, and most consistent, to stitch the 20 images together in Photoshop.

In October we were treated to an amazing pre-dawn cotton candy sky, and one of my all-time favorite images was taken that morning.

In November, Brian stayed home and I took our dogs, Vali and Molly. Arriving in the dark I parked and walked to the shore and realized I had made a large mistake … I should have known … my setup dock has been pulled from the water. I regrouped and chose a different location, about 100 feet down the shore, hopeful it would still work. I tried processing the images and using the new location seamlessly, but that was not viable. So I went back the following week to start over. I used a different dock, one that was just pulled back out of the water, but it was on the edge of the shoreline. So I marked my place again. 

I was grateful I discovered the mistake only 2 months in and not 9 months in.

9 months in and it is working like a charm.

I have been visiting that location every 4 weeks. I chose 4 weeks, so I could plan the shots on a Saturday morning. This means I will end up with 13 images instead of 12 … overachiever.

I have seen wildlife on each visit. I have met fishermen, kayakers, bikers, and hikers. Park employees and friends.

We camped with the grandsons for the July visit. That was a trip to remember. We all went on Saturday morning, but the clouds overtook the sun and we left. 

I went back alone on Sunday morning, while everyone else slept in at our campsite. I arrived an hour before sunrise, and the usually quiet area was teaming with trucks, boats, and fishermen. Turns out there was a fishing tournament going on. That was a memorable morning.

I was 2 good months into the project when I found out I was selected to be a Photo Ambassador for the Michigan State Parks. I even used this location for my ambassador self portrait.

With only 4 visits left to this quiet lake I can see I will need to do a bit of cropping to each image, so the sun’s path is centered on the canvas, but I am very pleased with the resulrs.