Looking for Light

Last Thursday we had a visit from some good friends, people we've known for 30 years. They live a few hours away so we see each other several times a year. Our children spent summer vacations together camping, fishing and exploring areas as diverse as the Boundary Waters area in Minnesota, The Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado, and the Missouri Ozarks.
My friend and I set out at first light to look for what we have called 'the golden light'. A short period when the sun first rises and the world becomes illuminated with a rich warm tone. Hes an amateur photographer as well and a die hard film guy, myself switching to digital a few years ago. So as we hiked we argued pixels and manipulating images as well as whether change is good.
We saw buffalo and approached them just before the sunrise and tried to get a few photos. We stopped counting the white tail deer at 25 by 8:00 am.
A pair of northen harriers glided over the bluestem surveying a meal, a coyote crossed the road in front of us. The photos I have here though are of the five or so minutes when the sun rose just over the horizon peeking though the clouds approaching from the southwest. We stood in silence, no more arguing, and watched the scene develop before us. The only sound being the shutters clicking. As the sun faded my friend turned to me smiled and said; "very cool". We headed back to roust his teenage son and our wives whom we had promised to take fishing the rest of the day.