Souvenir Sunset

Before I get to the prescriptive post I just promised, a random snap. Last night's sunset over the soybean field out back. Why? Because this place has been really short of pictures lately—we haven't posted any pictures at all since David Bailey's portrait of Maud Ford a whole week ago. That must be some sort of record.

Did you know that there hasn't been a single great sunset picture ever taken, in the whole history of photography? That's because, compared to the experience of watching a sunset sky, a picture of it is just a souvenir. The photograph is never a greater thing than the thing itself. You can enjoy the experience just as much without taking a picture at all, and any picture you make, even a good one (this is a pretty good one, a stitched pano—and the colors are pretty accurate, too, they really were like that—) is just a token.

I stood in the soybean field till it was nearly completely dark, and my mind was full of certain thoughts; what I remember is what I was thinking about. It was a magical sky, spectacular, but peaceful.

Mike
(Thanks to S.)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Richard Newman: "And I don't think there's ever been a single 'great' sunset painting either, for much the same reason."

Mike replies: Turner, maybe? I always liked Van Gogh's "Willows at Sunset," although maybe it's not among his greatest. What about Winslow Homer's "Saco Bay"? Great painting, maybe not great sunset. [s]

Jon Bloom: "We had a great sunset last night. My wife was driving me over to friend's house to fix her computer. My first thought was, 'Darn, I don't have my camera!' But each time we turned a corner or topped a hill I got to see a different aspect of the sunset. If I had stopped to take a photo I would have missed the multiple intakes of breath as each new element revealed itself. I'm glad I didn't have a camera with me."

Martin Fiala (Case): "I consider myself a sunset photographer. Might not be a good one, that's for others to decide. I'm certainly not a pro, I've never sold a photo in my life, most likely never will. But I really enjoy taking sunset photos, so I just do it. Time and again people tell me that what I do is the lowest of the low when it comes to creative photography and that sunsets are the most kitch subject you can possibly think of.

"I don't mind. I just enjoy sunsets (and sunrises and clouds and sky in general, both during the day and at night). So when I see a beautiful sunset, I just can't help it and take that 'souvenir.' Every single sunset or sunrise experienced is a special moment for me, if only for the fact that it will never happen again. Sometimes I plan the scene and place in advance, sometimes I just shoot right out of my window. And then I share that special moment with others and feel happy when someone likes the picture, since that, to me, means that I managed to share with him/her that moment he/she missed.

"These days, many people say that we're so busy taking pictures of everything all the time that we can't even enjoy the moment. I don't get these remarks. For me it works precisely the other way around—I notice and enjoy a moment much more when I'm taking a picture. I can enjoy a great sunset out in the nature perfectly fine without camera, but when I start thinking about how to take a good enough picture of it, then I become much more aware of what is happening around me and in front of me, noticing every single little detail...the final image might not be representative of those feelings at all (and most often isn't), but it still happens. And when I look at that picture, that souvenir of sunset or of any other thing I've witnessed, it often all comes right back to me pretty vividly, even years after it happened. I would never remember a single sunset and how it felt to be watching it for that long if it wasn't for that souvenir.

"So yeah, maybe there has never been any great sunset picture taken and never will be. And maybe what I do is really just filling the world with more uninspired kitsch like some people tell me. As long as it means I do what I like and can share that enjoyment with others, I'm perfectly fine with it  :-)  And I've taken some photos I'm actually quite proud of, even if they will probably never be admired in a gallery somewhere.  :-) "

Mike replies: You sound like a quintessential photo enthusiast and I admire that.

Thomas Paris: "Martin Fiala's comment reminds me of the most important thing photography's given me: it's taught me to open my eyes. I now see things I probably wouldn't see had I not picked up this hobby. And the best thing? I do even when I don't have a camera in hand."

adamct: "Martin Fiala (Case): Your comment may be one of my favorite all-time comments in the history of T.O.P. It really resonated with me and touched me. Thanks for sharing. Best regards."

Comments

[Nicholas Condon]

Sunset pictures tend to read as easy cliches to me, much the same way, Mike, that I know pictures of cats and flowers do to you. (Well, they do to me, too, despite my unfortunate habit of shooting them from time to time.) Usually, there has to be something interesting in the foreground to make the picture more than a postcard.

This sunset picture, though, amazes me. I don't know that I could afford it were it offered, but damn, a print sale featuring this would sure as hell make me think.

[Michael T.]

The calm before the Polar Vortex storm?

As a followup to Mr. Tugwell's comment: ALL photos cannot and do not replicate the real thing; by definition. However I understand and agree with his (and Mike's) comments. So many "great" (in the eye of the beholder) landscape images do look like "landscape porn" or National Geographic postcards because that is, perhaps, the closest the photographer can get to the "reality" of what occurred in front of their lens. At the same time it is much more difficult, and therefore much rarer, to see a landscape image that evokes an emotion in the viewer (even one that the photographer may not have intended).

[Bryce Lee]

May the soybean field remain a agricultural cultivated area for as long as you dwell in your new home.

[Kevin Purcell]

"The photograph is never a greater thing than the thing itself."

I think William Eggleston, Stephen Shore and the Bechers (and a number of other photographers in the contemporary art field) may beg to differ.

You could say they're looking for the sublime in the mundane.

[Oskar Ojala]

The sunset seems to have been spectacular, but I cannot also help to think that camera technology has come a long way: capturing all those delicate hues and strong reds is not easy and I assume this was taken with equipment that's in the financial reach of most readers.

[It was taken with a 16-MP Sony NEX-6 and Zeiss 24mm E lens. The lens wasn't wide enough so it's several frames, stitched in Photoshop using Photomerge. --Mike]

[Steve D]

I respectfully disagree. I've contrasted, darkened, saturated and printed more than a few sunset photo's from RAW that were a bit bland, forgettable and even drab, in person. Yes I "get" your point and I make mine tongue in cheek but there are a more than a few people who spend more than a few coins on what are (in my opinion) horrendously unrealistic HDR sunsets and landscapes.

[Gato]

This is why I don't do sunsets.

I was trying to explain this to a beginner photographer the other day. Now you've done all the work for me.

Thanks, Mike.

PS - A friend of mine used to call the more garish of these "placemat photos" after the gaudy plastic placemats you see in tourist cafes.

[Bill Poole]

Never a great sunset photo? How about a moon rise photo? Oh right, never mind.

[Speed]

Mike wrote, " ... compared to the experience of watching a sunset sky, a picture of it is just a souvenir."

And after the sun has set, the experience is just a memory. The picture renews that memory every time you look at it.

A sunset or sunrise has a vastness about it that cannot be captured in a photograph although IMAX sure tries. This morning before the actual rise there was deep blue and several jet contrails stretched from horizon to horizon all pink and ethereal. Some were growing with blinking jets at their heads. Redeyes to the coast and freight to Europe.

[Svein-Frode]

Mike said: The photograph is never a greater thing than the thing itself.

I say: I beg to differ. Ever been to a fast food joint? Food always looks better in the photographs than the mess they end up serving you...

[Michael Barker]

On paintings, I like Fire in the Evening, by Paul Klee, although I haven't seen an acceptable capture of it on the web.

[Semilog]

The sunset pictures I like are pictures of other things, taken at sunset and using the lighting properties on offer then.

[Godfrey]

Sunrises and sunsets are best seen live.

We only get to see so many of them. Photographs are simply a way to remember them, and to remind others to look.

[Martin Fiala (Case)]

Mike: Thank you :)

Thomas Paris: "Martin Fiala's comment reminds me of the most important thing photography's given me: it's taught me to open my eyes. I now see things I probably wouldn't see had I not picked up this hobby. And the best thing? I do even when I don't have a camera in hand."

That's actually a very good point as well. While I've always been more of an observer, photography has certainly taught me to be even more observant and notice things other people seem to ignore, with or without camera in hand. Which, actually, may even lead us right back to sunsets and clouds and sky, my primary subject. On more than one occasion I have been quite suprised by the fact that many people tend to "ignore" or "tune out" such generic (from their point of view) things around them like sunsets and sky. But when presented with a nice enough picture of something like that, sometimes it actually sparks their interest and they can become a bit more observant themselves. Perhaps even pick up a camera and take a shot at it themselves. I've seen that happen a few times :)

[Ivan Muller]

Thanks Mike, I needed a challenge for the next year!

I have the camera & lens, my 6D & 40mm pancake, one print a day might be a bit difficult...I will have to think about that a bit more. Also a 'theme'...I also have to think on what sort of paper I am going to print on( I have a HP Z2100 44 incher) and what size....Early in December my wife and I are going on my annual photographic journey of discovery through my country, South Africa. This time we are going to travel right around a small country within our borders called Lesotho. So I have a month to sort out my one camera one lens challenge. We have also booked our tickets next year for 'crazy' Naples & Rome with a short excursion to Germany where my ancestors are from. I wonder if I will be able to hang onto my 'theme' from Africa to Europe...time will tell.

[G Dan Mitchell]

Bierstadt is well-known for some sunset paintings, in particular of (his imaginative vision of) Yosemite Valley.

[Rob]

"The photograph is never a greater thing than the thing itself. You can enjoy the experience just as much without taking a picture at all, and any picture you make, even a good one (this is a pretty good one, a stitched pano—and the colors are pretty accurate, too, they really were like that—) is just a token."

Mike, I don't know if you meant this to apply only to sunsets, but I strongly disagree with regard to photography generally. I have seen and personally created many images that were more impressive than the original scenes, and that includes landscapes. Just think of Weston's bell peppers. I guarantee that the actual peppers were not nearly as beautiful or emotionally moving as Weston's images of them.

[I *was* talking just about sunsets, and I'm not absolutist even about that. As you point out there are a great many photographers where the photograph is much greater than its subject. --Mike]