Sunrise commercial real estate shoot in Albuquerque
In order to beat the customer rush, I had to wake up before sunrise to get to this brand new Mister Car Wash location in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a commercial real estate photo shoot. I took the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master lens all around the car wash looking for unique views like the one above, in addition to more traditional shots showing the building and branding. I also used the sunrise itself in shots to add some visual flare. Thank you to the team at Mister Car Wash for choosing me as the commercial real estate photographer for this new location.
My custom started long ago on the other side of the world of watching the last sunset of the year bookended by the first sunrise of the new year continued this year from high up on a hill in Tucson, Arizona. The clouds opened up just in time for the sunset and I made it to a clear viewpoint just in time for the sunrise.
Sunrise drone flight for amazing results for the client
Here at Jason Collin Photography, I find in photography and drone video, getting up for the sunrise is never a bad thing and often produces amazing results. Such was the case at this luxury rural real estate property in Arizona that I just happened to be staying at in the guest cabin allowing me an easy walk to the large pond right on the property to catch this stunning sunrise with both the drone and my mirrorless camera. This was a specific request by the client to capture sunrise content, and I included it in the overall property drone video I delivered to the client. I liked the sunrise drone video clips so much, I wanted to feature them, even though they are brief, in their own drone video.
Cold Winter Sunrise at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
The first day in the Grand Canyon was mostly covered in clouds overhead and fog within the canyon. Up early the next day for the sunrise I was worried it would be for nought, but the canyon was clear of fog and the clouds opened up to let some light in to highlight this natural wonder. It was very, very cold standing on the snow of the South Rime despite sunset coming relatively late after 7am on December 28th. I could not see the actual sunrise directly from this point on the South Rim, but I was still pleased to have several vantage points of the canyon and the opportunity to use foreground tree framing and clear shots into the canyon itself.
It is rare I get to go to a new place in New Mexico already haven criss-crossed the state dozens of times in just over 2 years for the rural land real estate photography and drone video work I do. So it was very welcome to make my way to Artesia, New Mexico for my latest shoot. I drove east out of Cloudcroft down a beautiful country road through tall timber along a canyon for miles. This is very unusual scenery for southern New Mexico which is mostly empty desert.
I have been to many places around the world, some considered wonders of the world, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, some hard to reach, like the jungles in Borneo, as well as famous wonders in the U.S. like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Monument Valley in Utah ranks up there with the most wondrous places I have seen. I bookended my time at Monument Valley first with a sunset visit, then the next morning at 6am with a sunrise explore. The photos you see here are all from that very early even-pre-sunset time in Monument Valley. So early, no one was at the gate to even pay to enter! No one else had yet driven into the valley that morning. I had the view of the two Mittens and Merrick Butte all to myself for awhile.
Since living in Japan, I have adopted their custom of viewing the first sunrise of the new year, which is often paired with seeing the last sunset. For 2017, I was able to see one of the more epic views for the sunset, having climbed up to the top of Cave Rock, all of Lake Tahoe was spread out before me. The sun dipped below dramatic clouds just above the horizon casting golding light on snow capped mountain peaks and reflecting off the lake itself. It was even more special because of who I was with, my whole family made it to the top of the rock, Jessica (girlfriend), Kiki (beloved puppy), and Artie (Jessica's dog).
