
Sunsets seem to be the image of choice for ANYONE who’s holding a Camera or Cellphone while on or near the Water. Why is that? The two just seem to go hand-in-hand. But in some Photography Circles, They are an Old as a Cliche as can be had for a subject. It is curious thing. If you’ve seen one sunset, You’ve seen them all, Right?
I’ve thought about this a lot. And coming from someone who has photographed everything from Brides to Trucks to Waterfalls, One would think that a sunset before Me, would be, well… “just another sunset”. I know for sure that they are certainly the bane of most all Image Editors. They’ll let you know, right up front, “No Sunset Pics” and that’s because they have millions in hand already. But I think I might know a partial answer/explanation to the above question.
Maybe, It’s because.. Like Winter’s Snowflakes, We see Every Single One as Unique and Different. And they ARE, to those of us that can load up a terabyte of drive space with our sunset images alone.
Thank Goodness.. And God’s artistry.. that no two Sunsets ARE alike. Ever. Just how boring would that be? Each one seems to be more beautiful than the last. And once again, We are amazed! We just can’t let that moment slip by, Can we?
So each time we experience one, It’s almost as if our eyes tell us that we’ve never looked upon one that beautiful before. (Constant amazement is Great, isn’t it!)
Thoreau described it perfectly with his statement quoted above. Among other things, We don’t just “look” at sunsets. We “see” them. And each of us, by Nature.. see things differently at times. Throughout history, this is manifested in all of the world’s greatest artist’s work.
So the next time someone just has to show you their latest recording of the oldest image subject in the world, try and Think about what is was that THEY saw when the button was clicked or the shutter was pressed. Through someone else’s eyes, You just might be amazed too.