This is a story of luck. January 18, 2014 was a sunset that I’ll remember forever.

It was a lazy Saturday. Feeling a burst of restlessness at 4 pm, I peeked outside, spotted some promising clouds, and spontaneously decided to go watch the sunset from the mountains. Note: the mountains, not the beach. But after a fruitless drive inland that I didn’t research properly, I rushed to Goleta Beach hoping I wouldn’t miss the sunset.

On a whim I sprinted over to UCSB. I was greeted by waves crashing into the rocky point, illuminated in a pretty pink light. Lucky again, because after I snapped this first shot, the sun sunk behind the clouds and cut off the light.

Moving on quickly. What are the odds that just one lone surfer would be persistent enough to brave the waves until so late? He was admiring the sunset too, glimpsing out west just before heading in, just long enough for me to snap this shot.

Then the sun sunk below the clouds, but not just any clouds… thin, wispy clouds in distinct horizontal strokes that faded westward into the horizon. Clouds perfect for a sunset. Not only were there clouds, but smoke from a fire 90 miles inland was blowing outwards and increased the contrast with dark foreboding streaks.  For ten minutes, and ten minutes only, the sky exploded into brilliant pinks and oranges. Utterly breathtaking. Utterly unmistakable. I’d recognize pictures of this sunset anywhere.

This is the truth of landscape photography. All I have to do is put myself in the right place at the right time and nature does all of the work. On many days I’ve dutifully brought my camera to the Santa Barbara beaches hoping for shots like these. This time, I got lucky.

 

PS. as always, click any of the photos to view in slideshow. If ever you want any of my pictures, just contact me (or right click… that’s cool too).