Planning....

or the problems of making too many confilcting plans!

Having seen some beautiful sunrises lately, particularly those of Flying and Kath Gordon, I decided I would make the effort to get up early and photograph the sun rising over the River Nene. I checked the map, found the ideal spot and memorised the time of the sunrise. Having gone to bed comparatively early I woke up on time, without an alarm clock, and threw some clothes on.

As I had a busy day ahead I decided I'd take the dogs too, and kill two birds with one stone (so to speak). They were somewhat surprised to be called before 6am, but rose to the challenge. We went out to the car, when my plans started to go awry. I'd forgotten that I'd filled it with craft materials to take to a bring-and-buy sale later in the day, so there was no room for the dogs. So much for forward planning!

'Never mind', I thought 'It's only a twenty minute walk to the river!'. So the dogs and I set off down the road at a brisk pace, accompanied by our cat Daisy. I thought she would turn back at the end of the road...but no! 'Surely she'll give up at the next corner', I thought. But no! I tried shooing her back, but she still followed us, eventually ending up standing in a fairly major road (though fortunately deserted at that time in the morning).

I decided that the most wonderful photograph in the world was not worth risking the cat's life for, so we turned back and she dutifully followed us home. The dogs were very confused by this stage, but just as I dropped their leads to unlock the door, they saw the next door neighbour's ginger cat and gave chase. This frightened Daisy, who then had to be cajoled from behind the bins before I could shut her in.

I nearly gave up at this stage - the sky was getting brighter and I thought I'd probably blown it. But a stubborn streak in me wouldn't give up, so we hot-footed it down to the river. The sun had already risen, but it was so beautiful, with mist swirling along the waterway, suffused by a soft pinkish light.

So this is the final outcome of my planning...it was the second photograph I took! I positioned myself on a rather scary spit jutting out a little way into the river, and set up my monopod, when four swans came flying up the river. I managed to get three shots of them - and this was the best. I took lots of other pictures on my walk, the best of which can be seen on my blog (see link in the 'About me' section).

It was a magical experience and one I hope to repeat frequently during the spring and summer, provided I can get to bed early enouigh!