Fall Back

Nearly sunset, November 1, 2016

If you haven't done it already, don't forget to set your clock back one hour.

We get the opportunity for 60 more minutes of sleep, recovering the hour we lost back in March.

The biggest impact of the fall back is the timing of sunset.

Last Tuesday, sunset here was at 5:49 p.m.

It was a beautiful faux Indian summer day (it's not really "Indian Summer" until a killing frost and we're still waiting), so after work I grabbed the tripod and camera and headed out.

Minutes before dusk set in, I could see Sun-dogs on either side of the sun.  Their appearance depends on atmospheric conditions and that day each side looked like a squished up three foot rainbow.

Just like every snowflake is unique, so is each sunset.  The concept is the same, up in the east, down in the west.

Today, the sun goes down an hour earlier according to our clocks, but it's routine is the same.

Sunset in Verona

The upside, for a week or so, is we get to enjoy sunsets when we might actually pay attention.

The downside is the glare in our eyes driving west to get home.

As the sun melted into the horizon, the clouds picked up the rays and tried them on.

An interesting revelation while peering through the viewfinder was realizing the more I focused on the sun the less interesting the shot in the camera.  When I took a wider view and lifted the lens over the horizon there were more colors in the sky.

Another thing I've noticed in trying to get shots of sunrises and sunsets is the big fiery ball needs a co-star or at least a supporting actor.

By itself against against a clear blue sky, the sun isn't very interesting.  It needs clouds to interrupt its light; branches or objects to add context to the images.

Goodnight Sun

When the sun exits, it leaves light behind to remind us what we're already missing.

Each of us have folks like that in our life; we enjoy their light when we're with them and cling to the dying lights when they're gone.

The sun sets before quarter to five tonight.  It won't be long and it will be dark when we leave work.  The long dark nights of winter are coming.

Which is why we need  to remember that every sunset gives us the promise of sunrise.