Greetings. Above is a picture of a dirty, pink autumn sunset taken right here in Southington, CT. There’s something about a fall sunset that sort of disappoints. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with its aesthetic value… it’s more about how they are a harbinger for what we all know is coming around the corner: Winter.
Winter sunsets are disappointing. They have a languishing quality to them. Even with the best cloud height and the most opportune cloud positioning, they leave a lot to be desired. A “high-quality” winter sunset will present to one’s consciousness a thin strip of mildly resplendent yellow, which within minutes retreats into a vast, blue backdrop of open sky, completely devoid of low clouds. The delta between the wavelengths emitted over the evolution of the sunset set is tiny. They can’t be said to evolve; they sort of appear, awkwardly hesitate in the sky, and then retreat. They result in tenous displays of light on their best day.
Maybe it can be chalked up to the lack of moisture in the cold winter air. Perhaps the light knows that most people will be indoors anyway and that anything more than a half-hearted attempt at the sublime would be a waste of energy, lost on deaf eyes. Whatever it is, it’s dreary and it makes me long for Summer. o_O
-JF