Monday, June 21, 2010

Vacation Debrief: Sunrises and Sunsets

I am not a morning person.

But getting up at 5:45 or 6 nearly every morning of my trip proved to be worth it, if only for the feeling of having extra time to my day. Of course, good feelings aside, I really got up for two reasons: because I could not turn off the sunlight in my tent and for photography. As any driven photographer knows, there are only two parts of the day deemed "right" for quality photography. The first part is the 30 minutes before and after sunrise. Similarly, the second good part comes 30 minutes before and after sunset. Why? It all has to do with the lighting. Being outdoors means that you are dependent on the sun's light, which can quickly go from soft to harsh. It starts off soft at sunrise and everything has an even glow. After sunset, the same effect occurs and the lighting is perfect for outdoor photography.

So I snapped a few shots of the sunrises and sunsets along my way and I wanted to share a few with you below.

— John


Sunset over Pecos River Canyon, Villanueva State Park.
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This cottonball cloud pattern, called mamatus, occurred on the edge of a thunderstorm that ushered in sunset at Manzano Mtns State Park.

Just after sunset over El Malpais Nat'l Monument you can see a star or planet (it was bright, yet flickering) hovering over daylight's last gasp.

Sunrise over the San Luis Valley and Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado.

Sunrise over Bluewater Canyon.

Sunset over Great Sand Dunes National Park.

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2 comments:

Melanie Newton said...

Beautiful pictures, John. Thanks for sharing.

Jennifer Newton said...

Great pics, bro! Sadly, I took what I thought were decent (not professional quality, of course) pics of the sunset over the Tasman Sea and over the mountains at Lake Wakatipu and the early morning light at Milford Sound in NZ. I'd very much looked forward to those. (Sigh) They're part of Australia's landscape now. . . .

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