DAWN SKY IMPRESSIONS REFLECT DAWNING MINDS NOW

ERIC CAHAN

Photographer Eric Cahan is fascinated with dawn’s whispers. His images look like fairy air, with faint hints and breaths -- so soft they tickle.

They feel like representations of a mind awakening.

If I were to paint an illustration of what my mind looks like at the dawn of an idea or a recognition, I would aim for the colors and qualities of Cahan’s photographs. But because his are photos of the sky at dawn, as it really physically happens, they are all the more compelling.

Like ethereal Rothkos, Cahan’s photos present fields of colors meeting each other in hazy striated horizons.

Sky Series, includes images of dawn in different parts of the world, captured during Cahan’s extensive travels. Each title is simply the time and location of each photograph. It is an extraordinary document of dawns experienced by one and shared with many.

Very little Photoshop is used. Cahan’s photos are created with handcrafted colored resin filters to play with the sky, coax the tinted light, and lasso the shadow just so.

Skies at dawn typically have fewer clouds than at sunset. Cahan optimizes the clear glow that blooms just before the sun rises.

The ephemeral quality of Cahan’s photos feels Impressionist. His light is magical.

Cahan often knows the colors he is trying to conjure beforehand and chooses his filters accordingly. “My mission is to capture light,” says Cahan. “Light is the true subject of this series: its constant mystery, the way it shifts and colors everything around it in nature.”

“My work is meant to capture a moment in nature, asking and empowering the viewer to be fully present, involved, and uplifted,” says Cahan. I want the viewer to be drawn in, and be completely absorbed by, rather than separate from, that fleeting moment in time.”

Read more about Beautiful Dawn, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink,Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Celebrating the Beautiful Dawn of A New Year, Just In: A Message from the Dawn of Time, 10 Beautiful Sunrise Cocktails to Celebrate the Dawn, The Spectacular Artistry of Dawn Now and 10 Beautiful Places to See a Spectacular Dawn.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Dawn in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 01.11.2015. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 37.786182, -122.490699 Sea Cliff, San Francisco, CA. Sunrise 6:57am.
2. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 25.7920428, -80.1631021 Venetian Island, Miami, FL. Sunrise 6:24am.
3. Photo: By Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 25.791371, -80.155503. Venetian Causeway, FL. Sunrise 6:54.
4. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 18.5333333, -68.3666667 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Sunrise 6:58am.
5. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 22.890725, -109.916525 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Sunrise 7:09.
6. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 37.7749295, -122.4194155 San Francisco, CA. Sunrise 6:46am.
7. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 20.2119444, -87.4658333 Tulum, Mexico. Sunrise 6:46am.
8. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 23.0076474, -109.7157281 Palmilla, Mexico. Sunrise 6:58am.
9. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 41.0083795, -72.2807896 Sag Harbor Bay, NY. Sunrise 6:14.
10. Photo: by Eric Cahan. Sky Series. 37.6909682, -122.3107517 San Francisco Bay, CA. Sunrise 6:24am.