Cliché maybe, but beautiful nonetheless. Capturing the perfect sunset is an endless pursuit and as many as we may have watched, they never fail to captivate each time. Words can be a very expressive and intimate way of conveying your thoughts, but sometimes photography is able to capture memories and communicate something that sounds clumsy if you try to put it down as words.

I took this photo about five years ago on my first (and furthest) trip abroad. It was around the time when my interest in photography started to take off and it was the first of many memorable sunsets to follow.  It’s true that taking photos can skew reality and the full context of where it was taken, but at the same time, sometimes there’s just so much going on around us we miss what’s happening right in front us.

The sunset from Kona, HI has probably been the most memorable since Fraser Island, but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. But it was different – I remember I wanted to focus on actually enjoying my own company and the company of the sun setting. The daily grind and our Internet-based lives leave us distracted and wanting things to “get to the point”. I remember that sunset as the only time (in a long time) I was able to watch something unfold at its own pace without feeling rushed, bored or anxious. The beach was quiet; there were a few people gathering but it was as if they tempered their voices and actions out of respect for the sun and for the moment of reverence they observed daily, maybe it’s an Island norm. Time became irrelevant. It was the most visually stunning and humbling thing I’d seen. I remember feeling my heart sink, wishing it would never stop setting once it did. As much as I love photography, it just doesn’t always do justice. Sometimes people are there just for “the shot” without actually being present.

When was the last time you were present?

Some things just never go away, no matter how much you try to distract yourself, replace it, shame it, or let it wither away on its own. The only thing you can do is find a simple, clean room down the hall with a window for it, so you know it's safe and content.