I only get a birthday every four years so I decided to treat myself on the 29th of February to a late evening run up to the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado.
I have photographed this particular area for many years and usually the lighting doesn’t work out the way I want it.
This time seemed no different but just before putting the gear away a gorgeous light beam pierced through the dark clouds striking a section of the peak. Soon afterwards, the surrounding clouds lit up with a fiery red glow.
Not only was it my birthday, it was also the day that I caught up in age to my deceased dad. One of the last things I remember before my dad passed away, we were coming home from the hospital to their small ranch when a brilliant sunset lit up the entire Front Range Mountains and sky above the Denver, CO area. With time against him as he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, my dad, who wasn’t a man of faith at the time (who later had a deathbed conversion), looked up to the heavens and then into my eyes and exclaimed:
“What a beautiful sunset God has given to us – He has been so good to me even though I have taken His creation for granted.”
That was a special moment for me as he passed away later that week. Maybe that’s why I am so crazy about sunsets today and have devoted a good portion of my life capturing them?
Regardless, I once again felt my Dad’s presence a few nights ago on my birthday, which I am especially grateful for…
