Off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, moments before sunrise the dawn lights up the sky a deep gold.

I've seen a lot of sunrises, in my pursuit of landscape photography. But sometimes, it's my wife's idea. This was one of those times. She wanted to wake up early and watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean, something we don't do often enough despite living minutes from Fort Lauderdale's beach. Every time we plan a sunrise, she asks what time we should get there… five, ten minutes before sunrise? No way! At least an hour, I say. Sunrise is great, but I prefer the moments before. The way the light changes, slowly at first, then building into a crescendo as the sun gets closer to the horizon. And the way this crescendo is mimicked by the increasing activity, both human and wild, as the world wakes up… it's just a beautiful time to be awake

Higher resolutions of this image are available (the maximum resolution for this image is 4513×2519). For usages that require a resolution higher than 3000px, or are otherwise beyond the standard terms and conditions, please email me directly at matt@matttilghman.com to discuss use-specific pricing.

For some of my photographs, I record and post the entire Photoshop editing process from start to finish. This is one of those photos, and you can see watch the recording here: “Golden Hour Off Florida Coast” editing procedure on Youtube.

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