I’ve never particularly liked warm colors – pinks, reds, yellows, oranges. I’m more of a cool color person – greens, blues, and purples. Despite that, though, I have always liked warm colors in the natural world – animals, plants, and especially the colors of sunrises and sunsets. When the sky lights up at the beginning or end of the day, it always takes my breath away. When the clouds burst into color, it’s an amazing experience.

      When I first started really pursuing photography at the end of high school and early into college, I went through a spell of trying to capture every beautiful sunset. If the weather looked promising, I’d try to get somewhere with a good vantage point of the sky, usually a field or lake close to home. If the colors exploded, I’d either point my camera fully at the sky or possibly try to get part of the landscape silhouetted against the sky. I was so proud of those photos. I loved the colors and was always so happy when I could get an interesting tree to frame them and contrast the black against the vibrant sky.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA An example of an early photo of beautiful colors in the sky. I didn't like the surroundings, so I simply filled the frame with nothing but the clouds and color. Scarborough, Maine, USA

The sky was popping off. I didn't have time to get to a better location, but I still really liked the shapes of the various trees, so I used the silhouettes to frame the colorful clouds as best I could. Kennebunk, Maine, USA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I was able to frame the sunset colors with the low hanging leaves and capture the clouds in the sky and the reflection in the lake. This was one of my favorite early sunset compositions. Buxton, Maine, USA

      As time, and life, moved on, however, my focus shifted. I still loved a gorgeous sunrise or sunset, but I stopped hunting them. More often than not, if I even saw one, it was at a time and place where I couldn’t get any good photos. I might come out of a store, heading to my car, and see the sky on fire. I might be driving down the highway and have the clouds burst into flames. I might be at work and glance out the window to see everything awash in pink colors reflected from the clouds above.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I had been visiting some shops at the pier with a friend. When we came outside, I saw the sky lighting up and snapped a photo even though it wasn't a beautiful setting. I still liked the silhouettes of the buildings, though. Old Orchard Beach, Maine, USA

I was driving down the highway and noticed a beautiful sunset in the rearview mirrors. I couldn't stop, as that wasn't allowed except in emergency situations, so I snapped a quick photo of the mirror's reflection with my phone. Gray, Maine, USA

While working, I noticed a pink tint out the window. I got up and saw this view looking west. I grabbed a quick shot with my phone. Kennebunk, Maine, USA

      However, that’s not to say I didn’t get lucky. There were many times when I’d be traveling somewhere with my camera, and I’d be treated to a beautiful sunrise, or more often, sunset. Even if it meant simply pulling over on the side of the road, I’d do what I could to take advantage of the circumstances. I’ve had several beautiful sunrises in Acadia National Park right from where I’d been camping the night before. I’ve had nice sunsets on the way to my campground in Baxter State Park, on the way home from the western mountains of Maine, and even just driving home from picking up dinner.

I slept for only a couple of hours in my jeep after doing some astrophotography and woke up to the start of a beautiful sunrise. Acadia National Park, Maine, USA

A beautiful sunset at Nesowadnehunk Lake, a location that a park ranger had told me to check out on the long drive north to my campground. Baxter State Park, Maine, USA

A beautiful sunset seen from the top of Robbins Hill on the way home from a multi-day trip to Moosehead Lake for a moose safari. Solon, Maine, USA

      It seems my luck is better when I’m traveling, though. I’ve seen some of the most amazing sunsets elsewhere in the world. Just to name a few, I was treated to several in Greece, one in New Mexico, another in Colorado on the same trip, some in Washington state, a few different ones in Utah, one from the cruise ship in Nicaragua and another later in Costa Rica, some in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island in Canada, and quite a few throughout the UK. In some cases, the clouds glowed from the last light of the sun. In others, the clouds were dark and the sky behind them was awash in color. Still others were more subtle in nature with most of the color coming from haze in the sky or the belt of Venus. All were beautiful in their own way.

We had just arrived at our hotel and were getting settled in our room when we noticed a gorgeous sunset occurring out the window. Delfi, Greece

We were walking through the town looking for a place to have dinner when we spotted another gorgeous though very different sunset over the mountains in the distance. Delfi, Greece

I was driving along the road my first day in New Mexico heading to my final destination for the night. In the far distance was a mountain range with the sun setting off to the side, lighting up the sky over the mountains and the flat plains between us. I pulled over and snapped this photo, though the wide-angle lens was the wrong choice. It was a new lens, and I hadn't realized how small it would make the landscape feel. However, it did still show the extent of the color across the sky. Roswell, New Mexico, USA

I had been visiting the ruins at Mesa Verde and was heading back to New Mexico when the sky exploded. I pulled over when I found an interesting bare tree and took this photo with the tree framing the colors. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA

I had left Mount Rainier National Park and driven west through Washington State, arriving at the Pacific Ocean for the very first time just as the sun was setting. There was an interesting mix of low clouds, high clouds, and fog out over the water that made for a beautiful sunset. Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

I had spent the day driving around the park, exploring many of the viewpoints. There had been a thunderstorm approaching while I was at Grand View Point Overlook, so I'd opted to head out rather than staying for sunset. As I was heading back to camp, the storm passed and sunset became visible beyond Candlestick Tower. I pulled into the overlook to get what photos I could of the different layers of the canyons and the colors in the sky beyond. Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA

      One of my favorite unplanned sunsets was when I was driving through Bryce Canyon National Park. I had just arrived that afternoon and was heading south from my campground, stopping at each of the viewpoints. Just as I reached the parking area for Agua Canyon, the sky exploded in color. All of the best color was on the opposite side of the road where there weren’t really any great views. I took a few photos with the silhouetted trees anyway because I always love how that looks, even if it’s not the best composition. On the other side of the road, however, that’s where the canyon and the vista really opened up. There was an interesting hoodoo close to the viewpoint that had really taken my fancy. It was a beautiful view with many great photo opportunities, but there was hardly any color in that direction, unfortunately. That was disappointing, because it’s always disappointing when the color happens in a different direction than our chosen subject. It was still pretty, even so, and I spent a while there taking photos. They aren’t the most spectacular or the most colorful, but I really love them all the same.

The best of the color at Agua Canyon, though it was across the road from the viewpoint with only trees silhouetted against the sky. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA Looking into Agua Canyon, just at the edge, you could still see some of the beautiful color with a hint of the rock formations below. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA

Looking further into Agua Canyon so you could really make out all the interesting rock formations, you could only see a glimpse of the sunset color high above. It's possible that if I'd gotten to that point earlier, I might have seen more color in the sky in this direction, but I have no way of knowing for sure. Even with the limited color, this was still my favorite photo of the sunset. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA

      Starting in 2015, as I worked towards really practicing to become a better landscape photographer, I decided it was time to start making a concerted effort at sunrise and sunset photography once more. I have not had as many successful shoots as the unexpected ones, but I’m still happy with my efforts so far. Most have been sunsets here at home, either at the ocean here in Kennebunk/Kennebunkport or up at Acadia National Park. While on my trip to Utah, I did plan a sunrise shoot in Capitol Reef National Park that went really well, even if you couldn’t see all the layers of the landscape the park is so famous for.

I decided to drive down to the ocean to try some long exposure photography. I was hoping there would be a nice sunset based on the cloud composition, but even if there wasn't, I knew I should still get some good experience with long exposure seascapes. It turned out to be a fantastic sunset with the colors lighting up the clouds long after the sun had disappeared over the horizon. Kennebunkport, Maine, USA

This lighthouse is one of my favorite locations when I visit Acadia National Park. I was in the park for a few days and made the trek over to the lighthouse specifically for sunset. Even though it was a bluebird day with no clouds at all, the sunset was still beautiful, and I loved the silhouette of the rocks, trees, and lighthouse with the light shining. Acadia National Park, Maine, USA

I woke up early and headed to Panorama Point for sunrise. I had been there the day before and knew about this wonderful dead tree and headed straight there to incorporate it into my sunrise shots. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

I tried multiple compositions with the tree and the rock formations throughout the sunrise. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

Other than the vertical composition at the top, this was my favorite composition with the dead tree. The colors by this point were a little more muted, but it was still very pretty. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

      The planned photo shoot that stands out the most, however, was a morning where I was heading to Biddeford Pool. I forgot how long it took driving all the small back roads to my location and got there late. The sky was already aflame with color while I was still frantically driving. Luckily, however, this was a sunrise that lasted a long time. I parked the jeep and rushed to my spot. I got set up and took my first shot at a more ‘normal’ setting, capturing the beautiful color, both in the clouds above and in a band of haze at the edge of the horizon. The sun hadn’t popped up over the horizon just yet. So, for my next shot, I wanted to experiment with a longer exposure. I had done some long exposure seascapes during the day and a few at sunset, but I hadn’t tried it for sunrise. I used an app and made some calculations, then started the exposure. What I hadn’t counted on was the fact it was getting continuously brighter as the sun rose. I ended up stopping the exposure early, and I was so glad I did. I never would have guessed how it would come out, but I absolutely love the results.

My first test shot before the sun broke the horizon. The clouds had exploded even more so than shown here while I'd still been driving, but they were still beautiful by the time I arrived at my location. Biddeford, Maine, USA

A long exposure shot of the sunrise that smoothed out the water and created a streaking effect in the clouds. It was my first attempt at long exposure for a sunrise, and I loved the effect. Biddeford, Maine, USA

      The sun rises and sets every single day. That means we have the potential opportunity twice a day every day of our lives to see the sky alight in an array of colors. And, yet, comparatively, I have seen it so few times that it feels like a rare treasure when it happens. I hope to continue to get lucky and to continue to purposefully try to photograph the sunrise and sunset. I hope to continue to experiment, both with long exposure techniques and with composition. Most of all, though, I hope to never lose that sense of awe and wonder whenever I see fire in the sky, whether I’m able to photograph it or not.