For some reason I’ve always been drawn to empty benches, as they’ve been a recurring subject of mine ever since my early days of photography over 15 years ago.

An empty bench gives the feeling of being alone, but that is not the same as feeling lonely. Loneliness is sadness over being alone. But being alone can be a wonderful and empowering thing if you have the right mindset.

I’ve always looked at empty benches as inviting–a place to go and be alone for a few moments and experience the scene, to allow yourself to be immersed in the world around you, to be present, calm, and at peace with oneself.

Today’s photo is similar a similar composition, but a different location, to one of my more popular photos from early June. The golden sunrise gives the appearance of warmth, but make no mistake it was crisp and cold this morning.

I took a series of photos at this location, expecting that my final version was going to have to be HDR because of the dynamic range of the scene, but I am happy to say this image is not HDR.