Sunrise or Sunset?

Sunrise, or Sunset? Which do you favor? Both can be equally beautiful. Both can be equally colorful. Both are fleeting. It’s a bit deeper than just color and beauty though, isn’t it? I enjoy them both, but if I could only pick one? Not an easy question to answer, but I would probably say…

It’s easy to say you must be a morning person to see the sunrise, although I think that’s a bit of a cop-out. For myself, I wake up at approximately the same time all year long – about 6:45-7:00AM. That means in the dead of winter, I see some gorgeous sunrises. For the rest of the year? I’m out of luck, unless traveling or something. Virtually all of us are up at least occasionally at sunrise. Maybe not often, but at least occasionally for travel or work, or something else going on, so let’s take the morning person argument off the table.

Many photographers and photography sites seem to favor sunrise – better light, or at least cleaner light I suppose. Maybe that’s true, but to my naked eye? I don’t see the difference.

So what is the difference? Maybe it’s more metaphysical and less about color and light.

Who doesn’t like sunrise and the start of a new day? Poetry and quotes are filled with “wisdom” on this subject – The symbolism of darkness going back to light. The chance to pursue new opportunities with a clean slate. The promise of a new day and all that entails. The stillness of a new morning, that perhaps gives us the chance to think clearly and cleanly, almost as if the morning dew washed away our cobwebs from the night. This is stuff that reaches out to our core and there are elements of truth in all of it.

Ah, but sunsets… They provide a close to the day and our activities. They let us take a small pause as we watch the setting sun, reflect back on the day, and maybe think about what did, or didn’t, happen that day. And if we are with others? I’ve learned over the years that for me, nothing says fellowship, like drinking a “sundowner” with friends while watching the dying light of day. That shared feeling of quiet and peacefulness is pretty wonderful. The warmth of those feelings often extend into the evening hours. And of course, most of us see many more sunsets than sunrises over the course of our lives.

As I think about it now, the feelings I experience at sunrise and sunset are different. I hadn’t thought about it before, but it’s real and it’s true. I guess I’d sum it up as thinking about new beginnings versus a time of reflection. How do you choose between those two versions of truth?

This is, quite frankly, too much thought about things that happen everyday. And of course, we don’t generally talk about, or remember those sunrises and sunsets happening in the rain, or the fog, or on a cloudy day. Most of us will experience 20,000-30,000 sunrises and sunsets over the course of our lives. I think it’s OK that not all of them are “perfect”. 😉

So which is it for you? Sunrise or Sunset?

For me,