Andy Feliciotti

I've been shooting for over 15 years, and sunrise is my favorite time to be out with a camera. There are no crowds. You get up while everyone else is asleep, stand somewhere quiet, and watch the light change minute by minute. It's close to meditation for me, and it means my day starts with something I'll remember.

One of my favorite spots is the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The memorial faces east, so the sun comes up past the Washington Monument and lights the Reflecting Pool, and at that hour you share the steps with a handful of people instead of a tour group.

Why I built this site

Shooting around the sun means knowing exactly when things happen: when it clears the horizon, when golden hour ends, how long blue hour lasts where you are. I wanted sunrisesunset.io to be the best guide to those times anywhere. It covers more than 148,000 cities, and the same data is available through a free API for anyone who wants to build on it.

Most of the photos on the blog are mine. When an article explains why clouds make a better sunset or how long golden hour lasts, it comes from years of standing out there waiting for it.

Outside of sunrises

I've been building for the web for a long time, from WordPress sites for hundreds of clients to my own apps like RightBlogger and ColorKit. That work is collected at drawne.com. I write about travel and camera gear at I Hit The Button, including how I photographed the 2024 total solar eclipse.