About the series

In January 2012, I spent a weekend at what was then the Hyatt hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

That evening, the moon was shining over the ocean and the city. The view was beautiful, and I wanted to capture it.

The next morning, I woke up at four and decided to photograph the sunrise. The same view offered a different experience: the cool light of the moon giving way to the growing light and power of the rising sun.

Photographs

Bright moon in a blue evening sky above the ocean, its reflection on the water and illuminated waterfront homes below.
Moon over the oceanMoonlight over the ocean, with Fort Lauderdale’s city lights below.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
Dark clouds above a peach-colored dawn horizon, with boats on the ocean and waterfront buildings in shadow.
Before the sun appearsThe next morning, a pale band of light gathers beneath the clouds.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
A small bright arc of sun emerges at the ocean horizon beneath orange clouds, with a ship to the right.
First light on the horizonThe sun begins to emerge above the ocean.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
Close view of the sun partly above the horizon in an orange sky, with a silhouetted ship to its right.
Rising from the waterThe rising sun fills more of the horizon, beside a ship offshore.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
Large bright sun above the ocean horizon beneath dark red clouds, with a ship silhouetted below.
Above the horizonThe sun clears the horizon in a sky of deep orange and red.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
Wide view of sunrise over the ocean, with pink clouds, a bright reflection, palm trees and coastal buildings.
Morning opens upA wider view brings the coast and the sun’s reflection back into the frame.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan
Sun glowing above the ocean in a warm orange sky, with layered clouds, a small boat and a distant ship.
The morning sunThe sequence closes with the sun above the water and a ship on the horizon.Photograph by Stephen P. Jordan

Behind the photographs

I took all seven photographs from my hotel room. They follow the order in which I photographed the view: the evening moon first, then the following morning’s dawn and sunrise.

What drew me to both moments was the contrast—the cool evening moon and the power of the rising sun.

TopicsPhotography