Location Taken: Wyoming
Time Taken: June 2008
Sometimes I wonder.
Do we love the sunset because it’s beautiful?
Or do we find it beautiful because it is our sunset?
It’s the only sunset our species has known. With all the variations, the clouds, the volcanic ash, the altitude we’re at, that change how it look, it is still the same light coming from the same distance through the same atmosphere.
Well, there’s a lot of variation in those “same”s, I admit. But there are still certain patterns to the setting of the sun that are ingrained in our psyche, calling us to our nighttime endeavors.
Now, there is a certain natural beauty to it, there’s no denying it. Color gradients, high contrast, strong focal point, those are all elements that make a robust image. But would it be the same if it wasn’t so familiar and yet so special?
After all, how many times do you actually watch the sunset? Our lives are busy, and unless they draw you outside at a very specific time, do you seek out this sight? And yet, you still can claim to have seen it hundreds of times, in all sorts of permutations.
The familiar rarity. That is what our sunset is.
