2013-05-11 The photo A New Dawn, has won first place in the Colors Of Nature contest at Chasing The Light Competitions.

This photo has special meaning to me, because it is symbolic of many firsts in my life and in the lives of people dear to me. It was taken while traveling to pick up a friend of mine after he had a stroke, and who had mounted the courage to escape from an abusive home-care situation to make a new life for himself despite his disability. This awe-inspiring scene presented itself alongside a highway in Pennsylvania as we drove in the predawn hours to pick Eric up on the pretense that we would be taking him to the movies, when in fact we would be delivering him to the rehab hospital to live, and he would not be returning home. It seemed to say this was the right thing to do, and it was to be a glorious new beginning for him; a first step for him to build a life back to health and happiness. For me, it was my first sunrise shot, as I had only just made the decision to attempt photography as a serious endeavour and had just received my first camera and lens, and also my first panoramic shot. It was also the first photo of mine that my mom fell in love with, she is so inspired by the beauty in it that she never fails to say "How can anyone deny that there is a God when they see this." It is now also my first First-place winning shot, and the symbolism continues to mount.

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