Sunrise, June 17, 2025 5:28 am, Leah Wilson

I took the first sunrise photo in December 2020. I don’t remember what compelled me to walk outside on that winter morning to take a photo at sunrise, but something did. I started collecting the photos on January 1, 2021. First I went through a phase when I tried to capture peak sunrise, whatever that is. I soon realized that is pointless. Sunrise is a continuum of change. Soon I settled into talking a photo exactly at sunrise. I check out the sunrise stats every evening for the next day on dateandtime.com. I love that site! I get the exact minute of the time the sun first pokes up above the horizon (today it was at 5:28 am). This is what you see on stories. In addition, I also get the angle of the sun’s position so I can tell, with a compass, exactly where it will poke up over the horizon (today it was at 58° NE) and where to point my camera lens. 

However, I do not stop there. I also record the temperature (the weather app and the actual temperature from my outdoor thermometer often do not correspond), the weather conditions, air quality, visibility, humidity, dew point, air pressure and direction. This info is embedded into each image’s metadata. I post those images on my website. 

I do this every morning without fail.

This morning: 46°, clear, air quality 27, visibility 14 mi, 81% humidity, dew point 40°, pressure 30.11 inHG and rising, 56° ENE

Some Sp​ring 2025 Sunrises, Leah Wilson

Why do I keep doing this? Because it is a simple act that gives me so much in return. Every morning I connect to what is happening on this planet where I am. I perceive with my own senses what all of those numbers mean, plus more. I can see, see, smell, and hear the present moment. It is a small moment every day when I give myself permission to stop whatever it is I am doing to go outside, pause, and use my senses to perceive. The ritual of taking a photo of the exact time of sunrise provides a structure. The moment of sunrise gives me a constant so I can perceive, compare, and note the subtle differences that open each day. I have a closer connection to the uniqueness of every day, the changing of the seasons, the cyclical rhythms of the earth. It helps me feel grounded when I travel to a new place. It helps me feel alive and human, connected to our planet in this era where we can stare at a screen all day under artificial light, and have all of our needs and desires delivered to our front door. 

I invite you to try it too. It is a small act that will change you in profound and subtle ways.

AI was not used, and will never be used, to generate any content. I create every image and write every word.