When Should You Wake Up to Catch the Sunrise?

I keep one or two sunrise photographs a morning, and the camera's clock says when each was taken. Of the 120 I kept on 118 mornings, 61% were taken before the sun cleared the horizon, and nine in ten came no earlier than 14 minutes before it. That is where the calculator's 15 minutes early comes from.

What the log cannot tell you is when the color peaks on a given morning. Nearly every morning kept a single sunrise frame, and only one morning kept a frame on each side of sunrise. Across mornings, the color index of a frame hardly moves with the minute it was taken:

Low and mid cloud combined at the hour of sunrise, against the color index of that morning's sunrise photograph, over 118 mornings:

On 92 of 123 recorded walks, the coldest hour of the walk came within an hour of sunrise, and about two hours after sunrise it was a median 3°F warmer (114 walks). The temperatures are the weather archive's hours for the walk, not a thermometer on the trail. What I wear for it, and when each layer comes off, is in Start Cold.

First light, sunrise and the end of the golden hour at the Cherokee Trail's sunrise spot on the 1st and 15th of each month, worked out with the same formulas as the calculator, in Eastern time with daylight saving where it applies. The golden hour here runs 33 to 38 minutes, shortest around the equinoxes and longest at the solstices.

What time should I get there for sunrise photos?

At least 15 minutes before sunrise, and earlier if you want first light. 61% of my kept sunrise frames were taken before the sun cleared the trees, and first light comes 25 to 30 minutes ahead of it in Georgia. Those minutes also go on finding the frame and setting up before the light changes.

How long does the golden hour last?

Less than the name says. Counted from sunrise until the sun is 6° up, the way this page counts it, it runs 33 to 38 minutes at Stone Mountain, shortest around the equinoxes and longest at the solstices. Some apps start it when the sun is still 4° below the horizon, which adds 15 to 18 minutes here. Either way it runs longer the farther you are from the equator.

Is it better to shoot before or after sunrise?

Both. Before sunrise the sky carries the color and the land is dark; after it the low sun lights the land. In my log the frames taken before sunrise and after it score about the same (a median color index of 34.2 over 73 frames against 35.1 over 47), so arriving early means you do not have to choose.

What is the difference between golden hour and blue hour?

Blue hour is the stretch around first light, while the sun is still a few degrees below the horizon and the sky is a deep, even blue; the evening has one after sunset too. Golden hour follows sunrise, while the sun is low and the light is warm and from the side. In the morning, blue hour comes first.

Do I really need to wake up that early?

If you want the color and not just the sun, yes. The calculator gives the latest minute you can set the alarm and still be standing there when it starts.