This sunset photograph was made as a storm, just to the south, was threatening. The storm never actually broke but it did create a very dramatic sky and wonderful colors on the water. Of course, this shot is looking due west. Normally, it is not really possible to shoot directly into the sun as it is just too hot and will blow out all the details, leaving most of the frame in deep, black shadow. This day the sun was partly diffused by the clouds... and I was using a neutral density filter. The filter enables me to capture more of the details in the face of a bright light source.
A sunset photo is a requirement of a tropical vacation. So is this photograph above just a cliche? One of thousands of such shots. We have all seen them and taken them. I took this photograph because I was fascinated by the rays, by the color fields and especially by the path the light carved on the water. I like the composition... the three broad fields... the way the eye follows the sun path all the way to the sun... and then the rays of sunlight shooting from the sun both up and out.
So is this just cliche? Or, perhaps that is not the right question. Here are better ones. Does this photograph make you, the viewer, feel something? Does it trigger thought? Is it a good starting point for you in thinking about the world and your place in it? If you have had any kind of reaction to the image then perhaps it is something more than just another cliche sunset photograph.
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