You Don't Know What You Don't Know

The first year we were shooting, Steven and I took a spring workshop near Brevard, NC. We were shooting sunrise/sunset and whatever the instructor could find in between. On this particular workshop, in ridiculously cold weather, we shot one of the most breathtaking sunsets I have ever seen. It was so spectacular, the instructor, local photographer Dave Allen, shot alongside us and one of his captures was a picture he’s had quite a bit of success marketing. We were so pumped about how beautiful and easy it was to get this remarkable shot that we spent many weekends in the mountains expecting to find the same situation. We didn’t know what we didn’t know. Sunrise/sunsets are not all equal. While all are beautiful just a few are epic. For spectacular ones, conditions must be where the sun, as it is just about to set or rise, sends glorious up light to color the clouds in majestic shades of gold, orange, pink, red, mauve, and purple. The color is fleeting but well worth the patience.