At the dawn of my sunrise photo experience, I was presented a morning of unimaginable inspiration. Thousands of sunrise photos later, this one is still my favorite. I thought I’d share this trip down memory lane with you.

February 7, 2010, 6:25am Virginia Beach

A dusting of snow covered both sides of the road as I drove to Virginia Beach on this morning. It was 28 degrees and some areas were slippery. The road next to the beach was crunchy underfoot—ice. As I proceeded down the snow-covered walkway toward the beach, I saw an orange glow spanning the whole width of the horizon. Up in the pre-dawn sky, I saw a few dark clouds floating on a sea of soft blue;  up to my right, a crescent moon. Although I couldn’t reach out and touch this horizon, it touched me. I felt privileged to be presented this beautiful moment, and humbled by the challenge to capture it forever.  Although no one else was around to see, I walked off the beach smiling, assured that there is a God.