“Sunset alert!”
These pictures were taken from almost exactly the same spot, on three successive evenings. One of the delights of living in such a wide-open space at this time of year, is the amazing and constantly changing skies; dawn and dusk are the best times of the day to see the heavens transforming second by second. I should add a disclaimer that my phone camera, while brilliant to have for these transient moments, only manages to capture a fraction of the colours, the vastness and the breathtaking beauty of these skies.
We had a conversation with a couple of friends living lower down on the coastline a few miles away, and they commented on what great, panoramic sunsets we must get where we live on the side of a hill. They think of us whenever there is a really brilliant sunset, saying how amazing it must be from our house. When we met them a few days later, they were gushing about a particular sunset; the rays, the colours and the clouds and the sky streaked with oranges and purples, and asked us what we had made of it…it was a few moments before we told them that we had been upstairs, nowhere near the window and not even looking outside so had missed the whole thing! They laughed and laughed, and we agreed to send each other “sunset alerts” by phone whenever there is an especially stunning evening sky.
I spend more time than maybe I should trying to catch the “perfect shot” with my phone; with a sunset, I usually have plenty of time to get into position, wait for the colours to be exactly how I want and make sure only what I want is in the frame. With things like waves or insects, however, it’s a different matter. The exceptionally hot August of this year meant our fuchsia bushes were accompanied by the non-stop hum of bees sticking their heads into the plants to guzzle the sweet nectar inside. Getting close enough to the bee to catch the detail, while it – and the flower - stay still long enough in the breeze for the shot – is an art I’m still trying to master! I’ve learned to take as many pictures as I can, even if I’m not sure everything’s in the perfect position yet, otherwise I’m going to miss it completely. If I take ten shots, at least one is going to be up to scratch.
How does this all apply to learning, I hear you ask? Well, with the sunset pictures, I need to be ready and alert more often to make the most of opportunity; with the bees, I need to not try and “manage” the opportunity too much, but just grab it when it comes.
What opportunities are appearing in front of you? Are you awake and ready to grab them? And when the moment comes, do you spend longer than you need to trying to get them “just so”? How can you learn to change this?
Let me know what you think; and until next time, let’s keep learning…
yes, we need to exchange sunset photos too. Do you get the sunrise as well?