"I'm still buzzing from this sunrise in the Marin Headlands," photographer Colt Steele tells SFist today. "I was actually dancing and shouting behind my tripod like a complete madman as I witnessed it. The combination of the incredibly vibrant clouds, the low fog rolling in across the bay, the exposed city skyline, and some lingering smoke from forest fires made for an unbelievable sunrise and scene." Steele's shot was no easy feat, requiring an extended drive, a steep hike with a dead headlamp, and more.

Getting this shot was quite the journey, and it almost didn't come together for me. As I drove across the bridge around 5:45 a.m. I could see that all the classic Marin Headlands spots were covered in fog. I knew a bunch of photographer friends were going to shoot from the Embarcadero as a backup location, but I had just shot a sunrise there and felt like taking a bit of a chance. I knew that to get a shot I would need to get above the fog, so I started driving further down the 101 to try and find another view point.

I ended up pulling off a few exits away and parking near a trail I had heard about from a friend. A few minutes into the brutally steep hike, my headlamp died. So that left me hiking in the dark for about 50 minutes, flinching at every rustling bush and passing critter. At one point an owl flew a few inches over my head in the darkness which made me scream an embarrassingly high pitched scream. Imagine an an embarrassing scream and then multiply it by 10. Usually I’m glad to be the only photographer at a location, but I really would have loved to have had someone else with me for the mountain lions to eat.

As the sky started to lighten, I could see how amazing the sunrise was going to be. I started running up the hill trying to get out of the trees to a spot where I could see the city and Golden Gate bridge from. I am not a runner. At all. After a few minutes of all out sprinting, I made it to an exposed hill top in time to witness the amazing show. Not sure I’ve ever been that out of breath. I set up my gear and started shooting away. A minute or two after I took this shot, the always dynamic SF fog overtook the city.

After a quick nap on the hill, I packed up my gear and prepared for the hike back. On the way back down the trail, I noticed another trail veering off to the right. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at a map that I realized there was a much much shorter way to get to this location that didn’t require an hour of paranoid hiking in the darkness…

Worth it!

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