A bit over a year ago, I shared a series of photos of scenes I was fortunate enough to experience. Everyone loves a good sunset, but I, as an early riser, appreciate a beautiful sunrise. When I see a great sunrise, I am drawn to capture it, and here are a few of them I was happy to snare in the last year.

I do not hold myself out as a great photographer, and neither can I boast of elaborate equipment – my Samsung Android has a pretty decent camera. And most important, it is available and ready when a great scene presents itself.

Like this one. My work finds me in a variety of industrial settings. Most of these are designed for function instead of form, and few people would normally find these sites appealing, let alone beautiful. However, a great sunrise can work magic on even the most utilitarian scene – like this fueling station at the terminal of a trucking company.

Sometimes a great scene will sneak up on me, like this one – an early morning stop at a place not generally on my route. There is usually not much to see in a deserted parking lot outside of an urban concrete block structure. A good sunrise, however, changes that. The soft focus (okay, out of focus?) problem is most likely the result of taking this one through my windshield.

Another morning found me in a large warehousing park far beyond the city. For those recently joining us, I retired from my first career a bit over three years ago and have been driving a semi truck. I drive locally, hauling loads to and from a local manufacturing company. Some of my time is spent waiting at some not-very-scenic loading docks. Occasionally I am greeted by an exceptional view.

Not every sunrise puts the sun front and center. This cloudy winter sky was giving the sun some trouble on this particular morning, but it made for a great photo. At least in my biased view. These are the kinds of places where America’s work gets done, and even the least attractive of these spaces can be helped by a great sky.

Most would not like it, but I have chosen a schedule that sees me working every weekend. I like those weekend mornings because they are much quieter than the weekdays. This scene shows quite a few trucks in a state of slumber. It is not just we humans who enjoy sleeping in on a weekend morning.

Here is another morning scene of idle trucking equipment. I love this portion of a parking lot that shows some of the downtown Indianapolis skyline in the background. An early weekend morning will not find much activity in this lot or at Lucas Oil Stadium, but there is plenty going on in the heavens. I have heard it said that a rising tide lifts all boats. This shows that a rising sun has the same effect on the clouds.

Here is another early view of that same lot on a different day. A sharp eye will notice the twin spires of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a building that predates the last century (with the parish itself dating to 1875). It was fortunate to receive a major restoration after a nasty fire a number of years ago, and remains standing as an active parish serving its inner city neighborhood. And made a great backdrop for a Sunday morning shot.s

These final shots are of a site I visit frequently. This is another of those warehouse parks that have sprung up off of interstate highway exits that were once all cornfields and crows. This almost-daily stop gives me a great view of the sky over a Wal Mart distribution center. That sky is different every day, and occasionally looks good enough to make me document it. Like here.

And here.

But rarely, I will experience a sky here that makes my heart sing for its majesty. This was one of those days. I have heard an old expression of “Red sky at morning, sailor take warning.” This day, however, gave the sailors nothing to worry about. Maybe because it is Indianapolis and there are no sailors of anything much larger than a catamaran on one of our area reservoirs. Yes, this is a repeat of the lede photo, which I used up top because I found the scene so striking.

This photo followed the one above by maybe five or ten minutes. I took it after noticing that in just a few minutes, the sky had changed from its gorgeous red coloring into this lustrous gold.

I follow some bloggers who are highly accomplished photographers, and it is with some trepidation that I put forward photographs of my own. I wish to thank those skilled photo bloggers for their lessons on photo composition, which I have found exceedingly helpful. Beyond that, I am just a guy with a cell phone. Sometimes, nature supplies what the photographer may otherwise be lacking. These were some of those times.