Travel Photographer Rick Sammon wrote why he thinks we are so drawn to sunsets and sunrises. His meaning is our draw as humans, but being a photographer, he especially means why we are drawn visually as photographers. He proposes, with affirmation from a RIT professor of fine art, we experience an exhilaration from millions of years ago, passed down through nature to us, meaning the exhilaration of the hunt (which would be at sunrise or sunset, just ask the hunters among us) naturally draws us to the sunrise and sunset time of day.
Fascinating. I will have to respectfully disagree. Not that I am the authority, but it seems to me the reason is staring us in the face. It may sound overly simplified, but do we not like sunsets and sunrises because they are beautiful?
Well, ok, not all sunrises and sunsets are beautiful. You have the rainy days, you have the dead of winter. Ironically, the pollution here in China seems to enhance the beauty…does not sound right to me, but it can be true.
As photographers, why do we go out at dawn and dusk? Well, if you work for a magazine or some such, it is most likely because your editors told you to (or you know they will if you return without it). For the rest of us, it is simply because that is the best light of the day (which is subjective, of course) and maybe, you will catch that great sunset silhouette shot of the local landmark.
That is the simple answer. We like sunsets and sunrises because they are beautiful, and we like that time of day maybe because of the possibility of having a sunrise or sunset. There is a deeper answer, though.
Rick Sammon (and friends) are on to something. I too think there is some deep, natural urge, something beyond our immediate understand, that draws us to the beauty of nature. It is the same reason we want to photograph the amazing power of lions, the mystery of rock formations, the expanse of rolling hills, the grandeur of the an eagle in flight, and even the wild variations of everyday people on the street.
The creation is absolutely amazing. That is why. Creation is made in the amazing, mysterious, expansive, grandiose, untameable image of the Creator. It is made that way on purpose, to draw us in to relationship with the One Who created. In the fullest sense, the appreciation of, study of, fascination with, and wonder of creation is the primal beginning of that eternal relationship.
So, by all means, keep enjoying those sunrises and sunsets (and even the rare eclipse like we enjoyed here last week), and open your spirit to the Great Spirit who is speaking through the creation.
I think I’d tend to agree with both you and Rick. Sunrise and sunset are often the most beautiful times of the day. And yet, having seen a lot of sunrises/sunsets in my day there is a sense of renewal that accompanies each. Even on occasions where I’ve been driving all night, the sunrise gives me that little boost that a new day is starting. Even on days when I know as the sun sets that I’ll be driving or working well into the night, there’s a little boost that I’ve lived another day. Even when I’ve been dog tired as sunrise or sunset approached, as the colors start to spread through the sky the beauty of it seems to erase the weariness.
My post was more about what I think is true and not why I think Rick’s is not. Modern Western thought (and I do not mean philosophers, but everyday people) loves to have multiple truths, even when those things are mutually exclusive. We have forgotten what true really is, what it means, and how incredibly important it is. We need to really think through some things and evaluate the truth behind it: what is assumption, on what other things which we know to be true is this based, and does this conflict with other “truths”.
And I do not say this next sentence in response only to your comment, but also to Rick’s own response to me earlier over Twitter. I am not trying to go wild and crazy on everybody imposing some belief system, but it does not seem that reason would allow for both his thoughts and my thoughts to be true.
That is not to invalidate your thoughts. I too feel fresh and new when I see a sunrise or maybe a sense of completion when I see a sunset. What that has to do with the assumed feelings of hunters millions of years ago is beyond me.