Avoiding the Sunset Mania

Okay, I'll happily take a picture of a Turkey's waddle but don't get me going on sunsets...the most over-rated 'snap-shot' in the WORLD. I made it a point to not take my camera with me during sunsets, not that we don't have many in Vancouver. Seriously, we are not a Diva City for sunsets. But, we still get them and yes, they are wondrous and beautiful. Cameras love them and so do I. BUT AGAIN...when you've seen a billion pictures of sunsets, you've seen them all. It's really hard to get creative. The first place that comes to mind is Hawaii. Oh, I've seen those romantic dusks in Hawaii where the palm trees sway, the waves curl and the romantics walk the sands in front of the orange glow. It's dreamy, oh so VERY DREAMY...but, I look at one more post-card with a Sunset on it and I want to rip down the display. It's like a cheap way to tell family:

"Hi, WISH YOU WERE HERE... these sunsets rule the skies EVERY NIGHT. You must be so SICK OF THE RAIN, THE SNOW, THE CLOUDS, THE FOG, LIVING IN-LAND WITHOUT A VIEW... well, hope you're surviving the FOG!!"

Love, the Smith Family. And that cliche family gets a big line through the family Christmas card list. No-one rubs your nose in it. Some of us actually love the rain...just saying. When I get a postcard in my mailbox and see a sunset on it, I let out a sigh of disappointment. Couldn't they have been a bit MORE CREATIVE...really, am I that dull?? And, then you wonder what beach from around the world it's from: Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, again- Hawaii, California, Alaska, Australia, Greece, Saskatchewan (do they have A beach)? They are on par with those Christmas cards with the whole family on the front. Politicians do that in December. I just don't want to have them say 'Happy Holidays' to ME with a picture of 'the Politician, the spouse, the 3 kids and the family dog,'HST''. And to make it worse, I DON'T KNOW THEM. But, I digress...back the the wondrous sunsets. Notice I haven't mentioned a sunrise. I'm not sure I've seen one yet? And that gives away a big chunk of my life. I'm not saying they are not one of the wonders of nature, I'm just saying:

"I don't like them in pictures or on postcards..it's redundant. Ugly Turkey heads and strung up puppets, garden hoses and garbage cans are interesting (to me)!".

Just dig a little deeper on your expensive travels, the ones I AM NOT ON, and try to spend some quality time in the card and postcard section. Or, just send me sand. I also cringe when I see the - I 'heart'*insert location*' t-shirt. You know that will end up in a Yard Sale or worse! Okay, after saying all of this, I did take a 'few' pictures of a Vancouver Sunset..because we only get about 10 per year. I will not be blowing them up and framing them, I will not be giving them as gifts at Christmas with me and my 3 cats on a HAPPY HOLIDAYS card!! and, I will not be running down to the beach each time the sun is set, to SET. As a photographer, my honesty in tact, I like the close-up of a duck's beak, the dying thistle and the broken down rowboat sinking in the Fraser River. To me, these things are just as beautiful.