Years of the Sunrise

Bugsy Sailor has captured thousands of Michigan sunrises

By Art Bukowski | May 16, 2026

He runs a dating site for Upper Peninsula singles and has a store jam-packed with Yooper merch. He’s a co-founder of a U.P. film festival and created a fictional sports team (the Marquette Salamanders) in part to raise awareness of these sensitive woodland creatures.

Yes, Bugsy Sailor—a self-described “Official Unofficial Ambassador” for the U.P.—is a man of many endeavors. But he’s certainly best known for his years-long streak of photographing Lake Superior sunrises every morning.

At the time this story was written, he’d logged 2,681 of these sunrises and shared many of them with the world on social media. He has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

“It’s my meditation every morning,” he says. “I take time to myself and start the day with nature, reset, get outside, and find some peace in the world, whether it be in my personal life or the world at large.”

A Year (and Then Some)

Sailor (that’s his real last name; his real first is withheld at his request) was born in Baraga, the son of two foresters. Now 43 and living not far away in Marquette, he’s always loved Michigan’s magical Upper Peninsula.

“This might seem like a strange comparison, but it’s kind of like my skateboarding days as a teenager. I really started recognizing what a niche culture that was,” he says. “And the U.P. is just that—set aside from not just Michigan, but the whole country. And I sort of fell in love with the niche culture of this place and have always tried to find unique ways to celebrate it.”

The sunrise tradition began at least 15 years ago, though they were far less frequent at first.

“I was kind of over the late night party scene of New Year’s Eve, and I wanted to do the opposite—let’s get up really early and photograph the first sunrise of the year,” he says. “I really, really loved it, and eventually I was like, ‘Why am I not doing this more?’”

Starting in 2019, he made the commitment to do an entire year.

“It was supposed to just be a one-year project, but I really enjoyed it and never looked back,” he says. “I’ve been going ever since.”

One Sunrise After Another

The vast majority of his sunrise shots are over Lake Superior in or around Marquette, a perfectly east-facing, sunrise-friendly town. There have been some at other locations while he’s traveled (Chicago, Wisconsin, etc.) though there’s nothing quite like his home lake in his hometown.

“For a lot of that first year, I tried to make it all unique locations, but the longer the project has gone on, the less aggressive I am about getting somewhere different every day,” he says. “I live really close to the beach in Marquette, and there are just so many spots to watch the sunrise.”

He loves getting out there at daybreak for a bunch of reasons. But that doesn’t mean it’s always a great time.

“Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes I’m not into it. I’m not inspired every single day of this project; not even close,” he says. “I’ve definitely powered through a lot of sunrises where I’m sick and still up and out the door, and it’s difficult and miserable. I play a lot of hockey, and I’ve battled through some hockey injuries out there in the morning. They’re not all easy.”

Despite all the hard work, his streak is not perfect. The unthinkable (fine, it’s really not all that far-fetched) happened in September of 2023.

“I hate to admit it, but I missed one. My alarm simply didn’t go off. I used my phone for an alarm, and it must have died overnight,” he says. “I slept straight through the sunrise and I was completely mortified. I was in the 1,700s at that point, and was just cruising.”

Sailor has sold hundreds of “sunrise cards,” which are 5x7” photo cards of specific sunrises with dates and atmospheric conditions on the back. People buy them for days that are special for them, or simply because they like the photo. Between that and sales from his shop (U.P. Supply Co.), he makes an “almost living.”

Though he’s enormously grateful to support himself through art, he’d be fine if no one bought a card again. He’d rather inspire hearts and minds.

“I really hope this project inspires people to get outside more,” he says. “Get outside in a snowstorm. Get dressed, get prepared, and go feel the power of a Great Lakes gale.”

How long will the sunrise project go on? It’s hard to say.

“It’s an indefinite goal, but it will not go on forever. I do have some ideas in mind about wrapping it up, but that’s not for the public yet,” Sailor says. “I’m not chasing a certain goal right now—for the most part I’m just really enjoying the ride.”

Fresh Coast Founder

Sailor is also a co-founder of the tremendously popular Fresh Coast Film Festival, which will host its 10th annual festival this October in Marquette. Fresh Coast also held an inaugural festival in Traverse City in May.

He’s filled with joy to see what Fresh Coast has become over the past decade.

“A lot of my projects have been very solo endeavors, but this one has a massive team behind it now and an awesome place in the community,” he says. “It’s had a large impact on a lot of different people for a lot of reasons. It’s been very rewarding to see the growth and support that the festival has had. What a cool thing to be a part of.”

Sailor calls himself a “small cog in the system” and credits others for the festival’s success.

“Not many things make it to 10 years, and it’s really hard for community events,” he says. “But it comes back to people and community. We got awesome people behind the scenes in the right place with their skillsets, and we just let them run with what they do.”

As for the inaugural Traverse City version, Sailor was delighted. They’ve done smaller events in Grand Rapids before, but never a multi-day festival as was done in TC. He loved seeing the community support and believes the “feel” of the festival was spot on.

“We want to keep that Fresh Coast spirit, which is a little rough around the edges. And I think having [screenings] in the back room at a place like Right Brain Brewery is such a Fresh Coast experience,” he says. “So I think we held onto our core identity.”

He’s excited for what the future may hold for Traverse City and the Fresh Coast brand as a whole.

“Marquette is still the festival. That’s the big one. But we want to be able to bring this show to other places…and we’re hoping that the Traverse City partnership stays steady for years to come.”

To see more of Sailor’s sunrise photos, visit yearofthesunrise.com.