Sunrise vs. Sunset

Certain landscape locations tend to be known among photographers as a “good place for sunrise” or a “good place for sunset”–but usually not both. Based on where the first rays of the sun fall at dawn, this is often true–many places are indeed good for sunrise but not sunset, or vice versa. (As always, consult The Photographer’s Ephemeris for data on the site in question.)

But there are always slight exceptions…and even full-on exceptions.

I tend to get locked into this kind of groupthink, too. But, now and then, it’s fun to experiment and go to your typical sunrise spot for the sunset. Or go to your favorite sunset vista for the sunrise. You certainly might be predictably disappointed…but just maybe–just maybe–you will be pleasantly surprised with the light you encounter.

As an example of a slight exception, here are two images captured within the past ten days or so from nearly the same spot (albeit differing cloud and ground conditions), at a place that I typically thought of as “only for sunrise”–Marshall Mesa, just north of Boulder. For the curious, yes, the large tree is the same one in both images.

At sunrise…

First Light on Longs Peak. Marshall Mesa, Colorado, 2015

At sunset…

Classic Flatiron Sunset. Marshall Mesa, Colorado, 2015