Buckeye Mountain Sunrise

Wednesday morning, November 5 I witnessed a phenomenal sunrise from Buckeye Mountain in the Ouachitas. Before dawn the sky was clear and full of stars. A high layer of clouds started moving in from the South before sunrise, but the horizon was still clear. About the time the sun came up the wind really started kicking it and clouds started racing by right out in front of me. Seven minutes later the sun climbed high enough to be blocked by ever-thickening clouds. Just a few moments later the mountain was engulfed in gray clouds and fog, and I was left amazed that a scene could change so drastically so quickly.

Here is a shot taken three minutes after sunrise.

One of my favorite spots for sun/moon rise in Arkansas for sure, just wish you didn't have to hike so far to get there! By the way, a group of volunteers, led by Tom Trigg, have taken on the project of opening this trail up and just completed a large effort to do so - we owe him and all the other volunteers a debt of gratitude! (the trail had gotten nearly impassible)

John, these are both very nice! Beautiful sunrise for sure. I like the additional definition in the mountains in the first image and of course the wonderful cloud detail in the second. Excellent!

Nice colors. Taking nothing away from your images, these would have been interesting shots with which to experiment using HDR, just to see if you could get a bit more detail in the shadows by exposure bracketing and blending images.

Two good captures John. The shadow details in the first and the cloud formations in the second make them both worthy of praise.

John, I really like them both, my favorite is the first with the addtional detail in the mountains.

The combination of terrain, light, and cloud cover make for quite a spectacular image, John.

For me, it's not so much the hike as the drive down there that's a killer. I have to get up at about 1 a.m. to make it to the overlook in time for sunrise.

Hey man, do the drive after work and sleep in the car - you might get a sunset somewhere along the way! Randy, you are the king of overlooks - I assume this shot was taken a mile or two along the Buckeye Trail and not at any particular overlook (John please correct me if otherwise) - do you know of an overlook that faces east that has this view or one like it?

I'm pretty sure this was taken at the overlook that's about a mile in. I can't remember now where I learned about it, but odds are it was from one of your books. So if I'm understanding your question correctly, yes, this is the view to the east from the Buckeye Mountain trail overlook.

OK, I just never considered that area an official overlook or not - that implies a tourist stop along the road! Yes, this view is in the ARKANSAS NATURE LOVER'S GUIDEBOOK and is also a great spot to photograph the rising moon, although there are other spots along the trail as well...

That's right, now I remember seeing it there, and I'm pretty sure you also noted the spot in the Ouachita Trail guide as well, but without pictures.

Wonderful images John. My preference is the first one with the layering of the mountains really evident. Great job.

Very nice!!

Of the two I like the first one the best.

Looks like a greta morning.

Man, the clouds in the second image are stunning! But as others have noted, the shadow detail could be bumped up just a tad I think. Wow, these are fantastic John! Great work.

John: Makes me want to go there. I've done next to no exploration of Arkansas/the Ozarks. I always go west. These images are opening my mind. The clouds in the second shot are wonderful and make it my narrow preference. Superb captures both. >=))>