Silver Lining

I was so prepared this morning. When my alarm went off at 4:45, I jumped out of bed and prepared my coffee while I got dressed in layers. I had already loaded my tripod in my car, so all I had to pack was my camera bag, purse (which I threw into the trunk), and coffee. I got to my destination in plenty of time to scout out a perfect spot to shoot the sunset. I set my bag down, assembled my tripod, attached my remote release to my camera, checked my compass to make sure it was facing East. 5:47 - I was ready. 

Nine more minutes, then five, then one. I waited until 6:00. When it became clear that the clouds were preventing the sun from making its promised appearance, I got into my car. I was determined to get a picture. Of what, I was not sure, but I figured if I kept traveling East, I would find something. 

I drove a few minutes more into the fog. As I drove into a curve, I saw clouds with their edges lit up by the morning sun. A beautiful sight, and no where near a turn-off - GAH! I kept driving and saw another. I decided to turn back around and see if I could find a place to park. I got onto the off ramp and made a left. I continued up a hill and noticed that the sun was peeking in and out of some clouds behind some trees. The best part - the view could be captured from a parking lot. This, I did. I jumped out with my camera, ran down the driveway and took a shot. Overexposed! I quickly increased my shutter speed. Still overexposed! I ran back to my car (why did I park so far?!) pulled out my tripod and ran back to the spot. I quickly reassembled my tripod and positioned my camera to where I thought the sun would reappear. I waited. Again I was disappointed. I waited 10 more grueling minutes and accepted that the clouds were too thick for the sun to reappear for me. I got back into my car and drove, this time continuing on the road that I turned from. I wound up driving on a bridge. Hey, I like bridges, so I found a spot to park and again, got out of my car. This time, I hesitated - tripod or no tripod. Realizing quickly that I just drove out of the fog and that the sun was shining brightly, I decided against bringing out my tripod. The bridge I found was the Weber Bridge. 

Content with this photo opportunity, I went home. 

Later in the afternoon (after a nap and quick house cleaning), I uploaded my pictures. To my surprise, the sun made an impression on two of my overexposed pictures. I processed these two pictures in Photomatix and this is what I came up with:

My consolation picture didn't come out so bad either: