At the end of 2013 I started a new photo album on my Facebook profile called Sunrise, Sunset. I’m a wee bit obsessed with them. Well maybe not obsessed, but I really, really like them. I’m rather fond of watching them too…
As soon as I wrote the title of that Facebook photo album, the movie Fiddler on the Roof came to mind and the song Sunrise, Sunset. I know I wasn’t the only one to think of it!
I started the album after realizing that I have a pretty cool collection of colorful skies from the morning and evening at different times during the year showing magnificent, at times unreal color, and majesty. Each day slightly different from the next, no two exactly the same.
What I also like about watching and capturing these colorful moments is that you really can’t look away, you have to pay attention. In just seconds the sky will change into something new and exciting. Knowing that you want to be present and in the moment and notice it all.
I’m not the world’s best morning person. I used to be as a kid but as I got older my body clock seemed to shift into night owl mode. That is changing thankfully. Where I am living now the habits are different and I am moving back into a morning person. One benefit is that in the winter months it gives me a better opportunity to see more of the sun coming up in a blaze of glory. I get to see it and not just wonder what it looked like.
The photos here represent one morning in early January of this year. It was absolutely spectacular and I couldn’t stop taking pictures.
Off the back deck of the house we can see the Coos River winding it’s way into the hills. There are mornings as the sun makes its way above the hills, the entire valley below us transforms into a magical land.
On days like these I can’t help but think what an incredibly creative God we have, this type of beauty cannot be by chance. I wonder if in these private, reflective moments, if God enjoys watching me enjoy is creation. If you allow it and you are still, beauty like this can can touch your soul.
Have you had moments like this? A time when you have to stop, and drink it in? These opportunities are rare and something to treasure. All to often we get back to our day-to-day schedule, time starts to fly again, and we forget all about that moment of beauty. Thank goodness for the invention of the camera so we can capture these moments to remember later.
We have a fair amount of rain here along the coast. According to Oregon Bay Area Website:
Rainfall along the coast averages about 80 inches a year increasing inland with elevation to as much as 100 inches or more at points in the coast range.
At times the rain makes you want to build an ark before you float away. But, the clouds the rain brings can make for spectacular sunrises and sunsets. They totally change the character of the sunrise as opposed to a non-cloudy morning where the color spreads across the sky unhindered.
The clouds bring texture, movement, reflection, and an entirely new dimension and depth to the colorful display.
I know that sunrise and sunset shots are probably cliché and are one of the most shared styles of photos on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. But, I also know that there are few things in the nature that are so utterly, breathtakingly beautiful even if only for a few minutes. It is worth it to stop and enjoy each of those few minutes and when possible, capture it and share what you felt.
Marta Goertzen is an entrepreneur, writer, WordPress Website developer, and nature photographer. She daily explores the trails and beaches of the South Central Oregon Coast with her dogs Oliver & Mochi. You can follow along on their adventures on Instagram. Marta also fully believes that change starts with gratitude and that gratitude can change everything. Find out how with the “Grateful Friday 7-Days of Gratitude Starter Kit”
Am loving everything..