Sunset 090414The sun really impacted this shot sending an orange glow throughout the land.

     This picture is really significant to me. Landscape photography really became a passion for me after seeing the response when I posted this on my Flickr page. Within a couple of hours, it was placed on the In Explore page of Flickr. Although I don't understand it fully, it seems that out of the millions of pictures that are uploaded to Flickr daily, they (The powers that be at Flickr) select a really low percentage of them to be posted in an "elite" page where it is seen in parts of the world that I didn't know existed and to fans of photography and photographers everywhere. By the end of the day, the picture had been viewed 15, 400+ times and was favorited by 243 fans of the In Explore community. I had been shooting landscapes for a while up to this photo, but this one locked it in that this is what I absolutely love to photograph.

     Sunrises and sunsets seem to be the most predictable times to photograph. I specifically look for mornings or nights when there are clouds; not enough to obscure the setting or rising of the sun, but hoping for the glow that usually occurs once the sun is below the horizon is an amazing experience. I typically cannot refuse the opportunity to shoot the sunset, and lately, the sunrise if I am awake that early. So many opportunities, as of late, have been presented to photograph the rising sun, despite how much I want to just go back to bed. I choose the beauty of the scene and photograph it to show anyone who looks what I experienced, perhaps even the emotion of the event. The sun rises and sets everyday, but it's taken for granted because of just that: It's supposed to, therefore it's not really a phenomenon to pay attention to.

   This picture was captured on a September evening in 2014. It shows me that there is a bounty of beautiful landscapes that can be capture within a few miles of my home, and that those that view it can really appreciate the value of what I am seeing; what I am feeling. A week after this photo was captured, my family and I flew to Lake Buena Vista Florida, where I captured more photos of landscapes within the property of Walt Disney World. Despite everything that is there, I looked forward to returning home, in Michigan, to capture more photos of everything beautiful in a place I am familiar with. Things that most people take for granted or just plainly don't see anymore.