Heroes Not Zombies

Sometimes as the sun sets it looks bigger than it does on most days.

Yesterday was one of those times.

There’s a lot I like about this shot.

I like the wavy edge of the sun. We tend to think of the sun as a perfect circle but when we see the close up photos taken from satellites and with telescopes we see that it is a huge furnace of fire, constantly sending flames and gases into the rest of the universe.

I like the shades within the colour of the sun. I put on my exposure bracketing to capture a number of different exposures because a straight point and shoot bleached out the sun and made it appear white, when, in fact, it was the rich redness which drew me out into the garden with my camera. This particular exposure captures the colours I saw most closely.

I like the tree on the horizon just in front of the sun. If you are in the habit of watching the sunset from a particular place you’ll be well aware that it disappears below the horizon slightly further east, west, depending on the season. Just now, in December in France, the sun is moving slowly further east. In midsummer it settles down way further west than where this tree is growing. So, in fact, I could only get this particular image from this particular spot in the garden yesterday. Even if the sun sets as beautifully again tonight, it won’t be setting exactly behind this tree (leastways, not from my garden)

Aren’t all those aspects of this image wonderful? The irregularity of the edge of the sun, the changing shades of colour, and the particularity of the place, which is created by the unique combination of the observer’s position, and the day of the year.

I adore this uniqueness.

I love this transience.

I delight in the beauty of ever-changing Nature.

I relish these rhythms of the year.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see and to be aware.

And it warms my heart to share.

I hope this enriches your life today.