Glory

Place: Tennessee

Location: Smoky Mountains

This, one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever witnessed, certainly didn't start out that way.

I was travelling with a group of photographers, and, when we arrived at this overlook, the sky seemed quite densely 'fogged in'. It didn't appear likely that we would be able to make any interesting photographs from the location and there was consideration given to moving on to another area at a different elevation in the hopes of finding better conditions. By that time, however, it was getting late and our ability to find a new locale and still have time to set up to shoot before the sun rose was questionable. So, with just a sliver of clearing in the distance, we decided to stick it out and hope that the fog would at least partially lift as the sun came up.

What developed was unexpected and exhilarating. Over the next few minutes, the little sliver of clearing continued to open and we were treated to a truly moving experience. The cloud cover was such that there were a number of "God Rays" that emerged and, one by one, they swept and danced rhythmically along one side of the mountain, down into the valley, and back up the other side in a spectacle that was akin to a laser light show, only better!