A Lovely Year

sunset 08/20/08, originally uploaded by Rabujee.

Have you noticed, each day the sunset looks different from the one before? Hmm, random thought that comes to me every time I look at this photo. Ever since I snapped it a week ago, I watched the hues of the sky every evening at sundown and they're always different. Anyways, I thought that was pretty amazing, you should see for yourself. Its also amazing how looking through a lens opens my eyes a lot more to whats going on around me.

Flickr [the website where I upload all my photos] tells me on September 8th it will be an entire year since I took up this hobby. It passed by really fast, I still remember last autumn vividly. That was the first year of my life that I actually begun to enjoy seasons other than spring or summer. For 21 years I'd always loved warm weather, especially living in Michigan (winter sucks here), I longed for springs' arrival when school would be nearing the end and everything felt fresh. In high school, I actually enjoyed waking up early morning and being dropped off to school, or on the rare occasion when I walked the 7 or 8 blocks. But by midday everything got sort of stuffy and while the rest of the kids in my class would be dressed in their shorts, tank tops, tees, dresses etc., I was still wearing at least two layers to cover up properly (not that I regret doing that). Thats when I wished to hurry up and go home so I'd be one day closer to starting summer vacation. At least then I could dress lightly while I relaxed at home. Okay, I have no idea where this is going now lol but I guess I'm just reminiscing.

So where was I? Oh yea, enjoying different seasons...last years autumn was so beautiful and for the first time I felt it; the way the colors changed and the fact that the sun still shone brightly, warmly, yet the onset of evening brought a cool wind. And if you took a walk at that time, you'd feel it on your face, refreshing to your mind (sorry for sounding sappy but thats how I felt hehe). I guess, I always associated fall with loneliness or departure...maybe its just a natural reminder of death (at least thats how I used to see it). And I'm not denying that that is true...but I think theres another contrast here, that among all that change, there are still creatures preserving their liveliness each in their own way. Birds fly to a warmer climate, people put on more clothes (some do anyways lol), certain species go into hiding...you get the picture.

Sunsets, in a similar right, are usually viewed as the end of something, am I wrong? Maybe thats just how I thought about it anyways, but isn't that really disappointing, to associate such a beautiful sight with something sad like an end of something? Couldn't a sunset be the beginning of something, like the time when you can await the arrival of the night and the moon. The moon is sometimes ignored, since we all go in our cozy homes before it even shines in the sky. Then we never set eyes on the sky again 'till the next morning when its gone. Maybe the sun's going down and spreading its colors across the sky are a way of it introducing the onset of the moon, like an orchestra that plays soft, melodious tunes before delivering the climax.

My main point here is that where there's an "end" there's surely a beginning. And, I don't know but I think that taking up photography helped me enjoy every experience a little bit more Alhamdulilah . And this time around, I'm looking forward to that first leaf that turns to its orange-ish hue. And I'll definitely jump on that big pile of crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, and I don't care how old I am =P.

P.S. Before you go, check out this short film by Alonso Alvarez, it was a winner this year at Cannes Short Film Online Competition. Anyways, check it, it kinda goes with this post...enjoy!

The Story of a Sign