Soulshine

This image was taken in September of 2003 on a California Highway. When I realized that the highway I was traveling on ran directly east and west. I saw a great opportunity for a sunrise photo, so that night I slept in my truck along the side of the road. Just Before dawn I stood in the middle of the road trying to compose my shot, but every time I felt that I had it right a car would show up in the distance and I would have to wait a good ten minutes for the car to pass. I was starting to worry that the sun would begin to rise (it happens very fast) and a car would be in the way just as the sun was in the right spot. I began shooting from my spot in the middle of the road, aware that a car was slowly sneaking up behind me. I stayed in the road as long as I could without getting run over. By the time the car was out of the picture it was to late to try again, so I had to cross my fingers and wait until I got my film back. Normally in photography you want to eliminate lens flare (the orange circle in the road) but when I processed the film and saw the flare, I felt it added something special to the image. As you can see I was able to capture the shot and it was well worth the risk.