dawn walk
Seven stops over 95 minutes, civil dawn through golden-hour close.
Sun rises ENE (72°). 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 68° ENE · alt -5.6° · camera N (side-lit) · ISO 3200-6400 · f/2.8-4 · 1/250s+
Canopy warblers in the cottonwoods. Listen first, locate second.
sun 70° ENE · alt -2.9° · camera E (front-lit) · ISO 3200-6400 · f/2.8-4 · 1/250s+
Sora in the cattails. Marsh wrens working the edge.
sun 74° ENE · alt +0.6° · camera N (side-lit) · ISO 1600-3200 · f/4-5.6 · 1/500s
Gulls loafing on pilings. Terns hunting the marina mouth.
sun 76° ENE · alt +3.3° · 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 78° ENE · alt +6.1° · camera E (front-lit) · ISO 400-1600 · f/5.6-8 · 1/1000s
Songbirds feeding on ripening mulberries. Tight close-ups.
sun 81° E · alt +8.8° · 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 83° E · alt +11.6° · camera W (back-lit) · ISO 400-1600 · f/5.6-8 · 1/1000s
return
Golden hour ends 7:17 am. Light hardens past +6° altitude. Head for the car by 7:48 am; back at the lot by 7:58 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.