Waking up at the Texas Rowing Center with Miranda, Eliot, Milo and Plum
Why 33 Sunrises? What is this about? Over the last year and a half I've gone through major life changes and afraid of getting caught in a rut of "words without action" in my business, I needed a creative project to re-energize, bring life back into these bones. I'm 33 this year. I've always loved the sun rise but I wanted a challenge that would actually get me out of bed, to start the day out in a positive way and still have it be a trajectory for my photography business, essentially create content and have fun! I'm on Day 11 of documenting the sun rise, whether just in words or words and photographs and this feels like one of the best decisions I've made in a really long time.
I didn't start out with any grand plans though. To be honest I had no plans. No thoughts of where I would go or what I would see. That's just how I roll. I didn't even think prior "Oh! Let me invite others to join me on this path!" I just wanted to ensure I was jump starting the day, then it occurred to me "Wait... I can invite others on this path, too?! Oh my goodness! How exciting!!"
This morning was one of my favorites. Miranda runs a lifestyle and sewing blog Live Free Creative Co. She's done everything from make wedding dresses from scratch to flower arrangement DIYs. I draw so much inspiration from her as both a business owner and from the beautiful mother she is, to curious Eliot, big-hearted Milo and darling Plum. What a joy this morning was, following along on their adventure of kayaking Town Lake! Their family is moving to Virginia next month, husband Dave is already working/living there, and M had a bucket list of places they wanted to ensure they visited before they all headed East!
How serendipitous only the week before I thought "Who can I kayak at sunrise with?!" The kids did so great! The light was otherworldly, of course. The water was peaceful and perhaps in Carli's perfect world, I'd wake up to this flow - the sea, an ocean, this river - every day of my life.
I've lived in Austin since 2005 and I've lost count of the number of times I've kayaked, but I can't ever say I actually stopped to look at the trees on the banks. Usually I'm caught up in the grand scale of it all, the city skyline resting atop the train tracks balanced by the nature we're floating upon. There was a tree so The Notebook-esque, with large branches bending and arching on all sides that just barely touched the surface of the water and the roots were gigantic, sinking deep into the river.
The first set of shots I took with my Nikon D700 (full frame dslr) when I was just shooting from the dock but the ones when we're all actually on the water were with Mirandas iPhone! I love the iPhone - it's great for portraits - but it didn't do the sun light through this tree justice! In any case it is a moment I shall not forget...
Thanks Anderson family for sharing Day 11 with me!
Oh those silly swans. For no reason whatsoever as I was shooting they just waddled up and tried to eat my toes! Maybe because they are so long they thought they were worms?? They're just beautiful animals, so graceful and it was great being up so close to those wild beasts...
Thank you soo much to Mack from the Rowing Center for yelling "Hi!" back every time I run the trail. Thank you to Matt for the kind email and Alvin for setting us up in the canoe and for remembering that Oh my gosh I have been kayaking at TRC for many many years and yes, he has been there for 21 years himself!
Lots to love about this great city. So many friendly familiar faces.
Good morning, ATX, indeed.