Brighter Mornings At Last

(Camera: Canon Sure Shot A-1; Film: expired Kodak Gold 400)

Although the days have been getting longer since the winter solstice back on December 21st, from this latitude, all the extra daylight has been added to the evening, with later and later sunsets. If, like me, you hate getting out of bed when it’s still dark outside, then the extra daylight so far has been of little consolation. That slowly began to change a week ago, but it’s this week when things really begin to take off with nearly an extra minute of daylight tacked onto each morning. Sunrise today was at 7:59, but by next Monday it’ll be at 7:53 — 6 minutes earlier. Now we’re getting somewhere!

I took this photo yesterday while running a test roll through a new (to me) camera, a Canon Sure Shot A-1 (review to come soon). There’s just something about snow on an ocean beach that gives winter an extra jolt of poignancy. But the bright, blue sky imbues the scene with a touch of optimism. The gulls? They’re probably just enjoying the sun and happy to be alive.