Since I never really adjusted from EST, getting up for sunrise was no trouble because I was 2 hours ahead of everyone else. I ended up getting there very early, and wandered around in the dark, practicing night photography, then circling back and getting my favorite compositions in the blue light. I forgot about the theater, so next trip I will have to check that box.
I was not traveling with a tripod, so I was anchoring myself against buildings and benches and garbage cans to use slower shutter speeds. There were a handful of homeless people sleeping along the mall and some were starting their day, and the city sanitation workers were washing the streets and blowing off the leaves, but other that, it was deserted. As I looked at my photos later, I missed the human element. Pearl Street is a busy place, and I needed some of that action, but I really didn’t want a bunch of masked people anchoring my images to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
I lined up the sunrise and it was going to be in a perfect line down the street, which was promising. Unfortunately, the haze was so thick that there was no sun until much later; the sky never popped. That’s the thing about sunrise – it’s hit or miss. You have to be ready, but it doesn’t always happen.