I do many things, but photography is not one of them. Yes, I like to take pictures. Lots and lots of really bad pictures in fact. Once or twice I’ve managed to capture something that I actually like, usually after taking the same picture about ten times from slightly different positions.
Today’s picture is not in the category of so-called artistic photography. But all the same, I adore it. I adore it because since I was a child I have loved sunsets. The colors and shapes that the sky can come up with simply amazes me. Currently, I happen to live in an area that, for whatever reason, has constant beautiful sunsets. Perhaps it’s because I’m up on a hill or maybe because I’m not too far form the coast or possibly just because I’m happy and so I actually notice.
Whatever the reason, I constantly point out sunsets. It’s become a running joke with my best friend and roommate. My mother has always done the same thing, whenever we drive somewhere together one of us will always end up pointing out the clouds overhead. As a technical theater director, my mother has her own twist. “I think that’s gel 35!” she’ll cry as we’re driving along, referencing the thin sheets of color she puts in front of lights for the stage.
I take another approach, “those clouds look like they belong in a Renaissance painting!” Sometimes when I hear myself saying that the sky looks like a painting I catch myself and remember that I’ve studied really good paintings, where the painting actually manages to look like the sky.
Now that I have a smart phone, pictures of the clouds will become more frequent in my life. I’ll try not to spam my page with them, in fact I’ll probably try very hard not too put too many on here. But this is the first time I could capture a sunset on my smart phone and immediately share it, so I thought I would.