Dawn on Lake Ladoga
Near St. Petersburg, Russia 2009
Russia has several huge fresh water lakes north of St.Petersburg. This one, Lake Ladoga, and another, Lake Onega. As our ship made its way to Moscow from St. Petersburg, I felt as if I were on an ocean because I couldn’t see land in any direction. The calm, glassy water was a shimmery, silken blue, perhaps because it reflected the sky. It was odd and exhilarating to be surrounded by nothing but that beautiful blue. I spent hours on deck trying to capture the sensation.
One night I awoke at 4 A.M. I could tell that the sun was shining. I opened the curtains and saw a red-orange sun just beginning to sink below the horizon. I grabbed my camera and began to shoot. Minutes passed and the sun disappeared below the horizon. I stared out of the window waiting for night to fall. The sea was dark, a midnight blue. The sky still streaked with the colors of the sun. And then, right where it had disappeared only moments before, the sun began to rise. And it kept on rising.
Day had begun. It was miraculous.