Sunrise Photography - Sugarloaf Peak, Franklin Mountains in El Paso, Texas

My buddy and I woke up at 3 am, met at the trailhead at 4 am, and made sure were on top of Sugarloaf Peak by 5 am to do some sunrise photography.
My goal was to capture all stages of sunrise in this photo. It’s a composite of images taken from dark to golden hour, and they were combined using focus stacking and exposure blending. If you are interested in seeing how I edited this image, let me know in the comments below!
#photography
#outdoorphotography
#hiking
#sunrise
#elpaso
#sugarloafmountain
#franklinmountains

[@ChucoHiker]

I won't lie. At some point while i was huffing and puffing my way uphill between 4am and 5am I told my hiking buddy, "Why can't I choose something like scenic drive. I can get awesome views there and just drive up it. Me and my harebrained ideas." He replied, "Yeah but where's the fun in that?" I have good friends. They help me keep things in perspective.

[@tangenttrails]

Spectacular!

[@ChucoHiker]

Thanks man! I tried some new methods in this photo, I feel it came together pretty well!

[@tangenttrails]

@@ChucoHiker It sure did.

[@jetgirlhikes9155]

Wow!! What an incredible view, and the border of the sun starting to light the city is super cool!! Thanks for sharing this.

[@ChucoHiker]

Thank you! It was neat experimenting with showing the passage of time in a single photo. I had a lot of fun editing this shot, and I am glad you enjoyed it too 🙏🙏🙏 🙂🙂🙂

[@hikingwithjackieboy]

Awesome

[@ChucoHiker]

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it 🙏🙏🙏

[@hikingwithjackieboy]

@@ChucoHiker you're welcome

[@ZacharyTeich-HikingTrainer]

Hi Chuco, it's cool seeing the city lights, and nice job on the picture. It's the best time of day, and always worth getting up for, especially when a summit is involved.

[@ChucoHiker]

Thank you! I am an early riser by nature, but waking up at 3 am is pretty rough for me heh-heh. But like you said, it was totally worth getting up that early 🙂