At the setting of the sun..

And it's not the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone,
Which gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
~Margaret E. Sangster
The Sin of Omission


Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 34.8 mm
Date & Time: March 17, 2008 7.03pm (GMT+8)
Location: Alabang, Philippines
Modifications: Noise reduction, cropping

My interest in photography started more than 10 years ago. I always had my little film camera with me wherever I go but I only took photos of sunsets. Back then, I thought that I would never ever get to take good photos because photography could be a very expensive hobby and I had more important things to spend my money on. But look at me now.. I still don't spend anything in the name of photography hahaha! I haven't changed at all. I still take photos of sunsets once in a while though. I think sunset captures will never fail to fascinate most people. Moreover, it is very easy, I bet you can even do it with your eyes closed.

Anyone can take photos of sunsets. Hence, they may sometimes look too ordinary especially for more experienced photographers. However, there are several ways to jazz up sunset shots. I am not talking about over-processing the image. It's more of adding drama to the image through forced perspective. Last year, I saw a wedding photo of a bride 'kissing' the sun. I thought it was a clever idea. I've seen some sunset photos that are rather forgettable but the unique ones have always served as a reminder that sunset shots can be less boring. My friend Romy nicely applied forced perspective on this sunset pic, now compare it with my absolutely predictable shots, and you would understand what I am talking about.

I rarely take photos of sunsets here because tall trees obscure my view. But an idea struck me last Friday as I was arranging our plants in our kitchen. Since plants are within reach and the sunset is in sight, I thought I should combine them in an image. Here's my feeble attempt at spicing up a sunset moment:


I was a bit reluctant to upload that shot to my photo stream, I thought that some may find it weird and ugly. Surprisingly, the super nice members of the Flickr community didn't find it as a lame attempt. Now I am aware that my sunset view isn't that bad and I can occasionally capture sunset moments indoors when I've got nothing else to take photos of. Good thing that I didn't let my doubts take control of me. As a result, I've got no heartaches secondary to things left undone.