What's creative about a sunset ?

What's creative about a sunset ?

As participant within the Flickr OCA forum Over a Coffee I did participate in some of the conversations but, if I'm honest, I did find some participants somewhat elitist unlike many others and it was not a comfortable place. Perhaps my learning and understanding of photography prevented from understand comments that were made.However I personal see opportunity to educate and help others with their learning an opportunity to lift someone up rather than to remind them of their place. Even the mighty Oak tree was once a simple acorn

One of the Level 3 students mentioned he was feeling flat and having a creative block and so I suggested taking an image of sunset. I was surprised and his return comment:

Where is the creativity in that?

I was surprised and needed to consider this statement over a few weeks. How could taking an image within one of the golden hours not offer the opportunity for creating an image that has meaning and depth.

Of course as one journey's on the discovery and development of one's voice personal meaning and creativeness within an image may result in a different image from what most people might describe a pretty image.

So as I start this landscape course I'll post 2 sunset images that I took last month and then perhaps at the end of my course post another sunset image or 2 and see how they differ. One challenge I'll give myself is how to be creative when taking a sunset image:

Image 1 - Sunset in Zia Mountain

In this image my creativeness considerations were placement of the sun, capture of the hills and mountains in the background and the silhouetting of the trees.


Image 2 - Sunset in Zia Mountain

In this image the placement of the sun is again and and the wait for the sunset, the best time to capture the sun's disc complete as the clouds moved and the wait for colours to change to wait we see here in this image

Do these images tell the viewers much about me? Perhaps not but it will be interesting for me to present something that does within a sunset as I learn and become better informed as part of this module