On Maui at Haleakala crater the pre-dawn set-up is simply a circus. A deserted park during the day becomes a Disney-like carnival well before first light. People arrive as early as 4 AM and the park rangers become parking lot attendants stacking cars in deep rows in the dark. People coming from the tropical warmth down below were unprepared for the cool air and wrapped themselves in towels and blankets. They took on the look of pilgrims stumbling to the rim for sunrise. Within moments after the main event that is sunrise, the reverse happens. As soon as enough people return and untangle enough vehicles to move, it starts what looks like a line of ants descending down the mountain. I was fortunate enough to experience two sunrises both at around 30 degrees F. I got the feeling that no two mornings would be the same here. I’d like to spend considerable time finding out if this is correct! Made on different mornings, the lead image (top) was taken with a 4-stop hard step ND Grad and this heart stopping one was made with a ColorCombo and 3-stop soft-step ND Grad. It was like flying without an airplane!