The Warm & The Cool
I've had this experience many times and I've previously shared that experience in my blog. Planning but keeping an open mind (and eyes!) seems to work very well in tandem. Planning gets you on location. Sometimes the shots come out as planned, sometimes they do not, but you're out there! And while there, look around, look beyond your originally intended subject, start looking as soon as you arrive and don't stop until you're gone. Look all around.
That was the case here. I wanted to complete my Seasons at Emery Park project at this very alley. My summer, fall, and winter photos were all taken shortly after sunrise and I planned on the same look, just with the fresh leaves of spring.
I arrived early, looked around and picked my location (further back than in this shot). However, since I had time, I moved around looking for other angles. When the rising sun hit the tree tops by the road curve the opportunity became obvious. I stepped several steps forward and used a telephoto to make the road curve more dominant in the frame. I really liked how the shaded reversed S-curve seemed to be afraid of the sunshine and circumvented the glowing trees!
Plan, but look for the unexpected opportunities (you can bet they'll come)!