My favorite sunrises are by far the colorful ones, but even though this morning was virtually guaranteed to be cloudy and likely rainy, I got up early because I wanted to see if there might be some magic in the clouds. Besides, I had the photo club meeting at 10am so I figured I might as well make the most of the morning.

It started with a 5 minute drive down to the shore to see what it was like over the bay. Right away I noticed it was pretty windy, with consistent waves and spray blowing on the beach. And rather than a flat gray sky there were distinct patches of darker and lighter gray...perfect for picking up the patterns in long exposures.

So I quickly got back in the car and took the back roads up to one of my favorite early morning beach locations, Brownie's Beach (also called Bayfront Park), just south of Chesapeake Beach, MD. The waves weren't very large but they were non-stop, producing a significant froth and spray that required constant attention to ensure my camera didn't get wet with salty mist.

I tried shooting in several different locations and may post some of the other photos later but this was the last spot I settled on. It's actually the last shot I took before leaving the beach.