The sunrise. A magical spectacle that happens once a day, every day. Yet, we rarely stop (or wake up) to take in this daily restarting of life. It’s a gift Mother Earth gives us each day yet, we so often refuse this gift. No wonder she’s so angry with us lately…
Heading to Peterborough to capture a sunrise has been on my mind for a few summers. I finally headed down the road from our summer spot near Bobcaygeon this past week. It certainly didn’t disappoint. The high clouds were perfect. The Otonabee River was glassy with just enough mist on the surface.
But, if you look 100 feet in the opposite direction from where these photos were taken, a life lesson was being sent out for those who were listening. In a grocery store parking lot were three police vehicles, one a forensics van. They were close enough to hear their voices but not close enough to hear what they were saying.
I don’t know the hard facts but I have to believe someone entered that parking lot in the night to never receive the gift of a sunrise again. My demise probably won’t be alone in a grocery store parking lot.
But, it could happen just as suddenly as the presumed dead that morning. It’s a simple reminder to enjoy the finite time we have in this lifetime. Don’t leave anything on the table when it’s your time to go. Don’t leave with regrets.
Peterborough, Ontario Sunrise Image Gallery
The photos have been shrink and, at times, cropped, to fit the gallery format. For full-size versions, simply click on the individual pictures.
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About The Photos
The start of September is unpredictable. The day and night before this trip to Peterborough, the forecast changed several times. For the general person who checks for either rain of sunshine, it wasn’t that drastic. For the photographer, it went from completely clear to foggy to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy and back again.
As it turned out, the 5:00AM start was not in vain. The clouds and colours were perfect. The reflection in the water was perfect. It was a bit of scramble to get into position. It turns out, what I believe is known as Little Lake, a fat section of the Otobabee River in downtown Peterborough, was glowing with incredible colour and reflections. But, there was just nothing for a photo.
We scooted upstream to the historic train trestle over the Otonabee (adjacent to the grocery store parking lot) and were quite happen with the scenery.
The bridge is joined with a newer crossing beside it. The newer bridge is for pedestrians and is part of the Trans Canada Trail (now the Great Trail?). Upstream from that is the historic Quaker Oats building with its iconic water tower. Beside that is the classic concrete arch of the Hunter Street Bridge. Of course, we also had the view looking back at Del Crary Park and the Peterborough Marina where we were parked.
Some are taken with the Tamron 18-200mm zoom lens. Some are with the Tamron 70-300mm macro zoom lens. The 18-200 is newer to me and was nearly twice the price as the longer lens. However, I’m still not entirely convinced of its quality. The 70-300mm simply takes a sharper picture. The 18-200 is extremely versatile with a better auto-focus and stabilizer. But, if you have tripod and don’t mind switching to manual focus (it does have auto but no stabilization), the 70-300 is just a crisper lens.
About Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city 140 kilometres northeast of downtown Toronto, Ontario. The city has a population of over 80,000 with a metro count over 120,000. The numbers increase when school’s in with Trent University and Fleming College.
The city is split by the Otonabee River. The Trent Severn Waterway also runs through town is houses the historic Lock 21. The Peterborough Lift Lock is the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock.
When it was established in 1819, the community was known as Scott’s Plains. When it was incorporated as a town in 1850, the name changed to its present. It was incorporated as a city in 1905, a year after Lock 21 was opened.
Video Driving Through Peterborough, Ontario
This video was taken a few years ago and shows the views driving through downtown Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
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