dawn walk
Seven stops over 95 minutes, civil dawn through golden-hour close.
Sun rises ENE (58°). Subjects north of the sun line catch early side-light; east of you, silhouettes.
stops · 7 over 90 min
Pre-sunrise water birds against the breakwall. Lake silhouettes.
sun 53° NE · alt -5.0° · camera N (side-lit) · ISO 3200-6400 · f/2.8-4 · 1/250s+
Canopy warblers in the cottonwoods. Listen first, locate second.
sun 56° NE · alt -2.7° · camera E (front-lit) · ISO 3200-6400 · f/2.8-4 · 1/250s+
Sora in the cattails. Marsh wrens working the edge.
sun 59° ENE · alt +0.4° · camera N (side-lit) · ISO 1600-3200 · f/4-5.6 · 1/500s
Gulls loafing on pilings. Terns hunting the marina mouth.
sun 62° ENE · alt +2.9° · camera W (back-lit) · ISO 1600-3200 · f/4-5.6 · 1/500s
Wind shelter near the trash can on the west edge — naturalist tip 5/16/2026
Migrants over open water. Silhouette compositions only.
sun 64° ENE · alt +5.4° · camera E (front-lit) · ISO 1600-3200 · f/4-5.6 · 1/500s
Songbirds feeding on ripening mulberries. Tight close-ups.
sun 67° ENE · alt +7.9° · camera WNW (back-lit) · ISO 400-1600 · f/5.6-8 · 1/1000s
Cormorants and gulls perching on the abandoned ore unloaders. Industrial frame + bird.
sun 69° ENE · alt +10.5° · camera W (back-lit) · ISO 400-1600 · f/5.6-8 · 1/1000s
return
Golden hour ends 6:40 am. Light hardens past +6° altitude. Head for the car by 7:07 am; back at the lot by 7:17 am.
Stop placement is photographer-domain reasoning, not field-validated. Worth one morning to ground-truth.
Exposure hints assume 400mm at moderate distance on a perched bird. Adjust to your lens.