That Perfect Sunset

Wanted to get good sunset pictures, because I keep seeing sunset picts on social media. If they can all do it with their camera phones, how hard could this be, right?? It was a perfect day, maybe a little too perfect. No clouds in the sky and the temp wasn’t too hot to be standing outside. I wanted to go somewhere beautiful to capture this daily phenomenon. Since we got to the Morton Arboretum early, we decided to scope out a place where we can get a great shot. We were quickly sidetracked by all the different scenes the location had to offer. The sun started going down and we started trying to find the perfect spot. The 20 MPH speed limit, became a suggestion at that point. We found a body of water and thought, this would be perfect. Get the reflection of the sun as it hides under the horizon…yup, you guessed it. The trees kept getting in the way! On top of that, I had given my wider lens to my buddy with the filter and I was stuck with the 105mm macro lens. Not saying it’s a bad lens, but you might want to choose another one while grabbing a sunset.
Each time I would look through the lens, I thought I was going blind. The light would fill the viewfinder causing me to squint, and just hit the shutter button hoping I had a decent shot. Looking at the pictures, I saw the lens flares and was unsure what I had captured due to the reflection against the lcd screen. After several attempts, I decided to look for something else to shoot. I began to change the  subject of my pictures from the sun to the trees and grass and used the sun as a background. The rays shining through the branches and between the grass blades gave a golden hue to the pictures which created a welcoming warmth.
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Inspiration
I’m always blown away with the what I end up learning when I bring the camera with me. I go to places thinking that I’m going to get a certain type of photo, but ends up being something different. I wanted to take a picture of the sun halfway under the horizon line. Of course if I were going to take pictures within a studio where everything is controlled, yes I’m going to leave with what I expected. But I usually take pictures of things that don’t listen to me in an environment that is beyond my control.
I wanted to take the sun in all it’s glory. I wanted it as my subject(no, not as in taking it exclusively and focusing on it, because that can ruin your sensor and make you blind!). I tried…but couldn’t do it. I was unable to showcase it like I wanted. When I began taking pictures of things that was infused with the sunlight, it was easier. I could take my time and not have to squint as much and focused on how to take something I could handle…Looking at the pictures, I realized that though it wasn’t the sun, it really was the affects of the sun that makes the subject of my pictures beautiful. I’m not sure if you got it…People look at you and what do they really see?? Do they see someone who is infused with pain, frustration, anger, or insecurities that are seeping through? What has saturated your life that is leaking out of you? Do you really think that you are just full of yourself?
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45
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