The Story Behind the Image: Sunset Outlier

At least 95% of the most colorful, awe-inspiring sunrises/sunsets I’ve seen over the years have reached their peak at least five minutes before (sunrise) or after (sunset) the event in question. But there are exceptions and the image included as part of this post is one such case.

During my trip to Colorado in the fall of 2017, I spent several days at Kebler Pass, in the Gunnison National Forest. The weather conditions were such that photography was an all-day affair, but while I was moving about, I was constantly on the lookout for possible sunrise and sunset locations. I found one such spot, with a wonderful set of elements, on my second day in the area, and returned on the evening of the third day, with the hopes of capturing a colorful sunset event. As I waited for the sun to go down, the situation didn’t look promising. It was almost completely cloudy, and it appeared as though any chance of a sunset and, perhaps more importantly, post-sunset light, would be snuffed out.

But something like 10 minutes before the actual formal sunset, the sun partially emerged through the gloom and, with a remarkable kind of peach-colored tinge, lit up the area at which I stood. Because I arrived in time, I was in place to capture a few frames of the event, including the one below.

I benefited, somewhat serendipitously, from a lesson I had learned many years prior: you can’t ever really know for certain what’s going to happen when the sun goes down (or comes up). You have to show up and be ready. Sometimes–frequently, in fact–it will be disappointing, but every so often the payoff will be a large one.

East Beckwith Mountain at Sunset, Kebler Pass, Gunnison National Forest, Colorado

To view a larger rendition of this image, with much more detail, click on the photograph above. When you reach the ensuing web page, be sure to click again to view the image at full size.