As the sea swallows the sun, the golden hour begins to paint its splendid tapestry of colors across the sky, spinning reds and bouncing blues off clouds to create a saturation of hues that radiate in one’s soul. Or at least in one’s iPhone.
Instagram feeds and Facebook walls have been brightened by San Diego sunsets for the past six weeks as nature’s color palette has been magnificent during the early evenings of winter. But why? What makes this season a stunning sunset kaleidoscope as opposed to summer?
The simple answer? It’s the clouds.
“It seems January and February have the best sunsets,” said Courtney Davis, a local photographer who likes to shoot around La Jolla and North County and whose Instagram (@seamerias) feed is loaded with sunsets. “It’s the cloud patterns in the winter that bring out more colors. It’s a great show before ‘May Gray’ and ‘June Gloom’ set in.”
The difference in seasons brings a difference in clouds.
“During the winter, we get more storms that move to the north; they don’t bring rain, but they do leave behind these high clouds,” said Ivory Small, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service station in San Diego.
All the colors of the spectrum are in the atmosphere, and it’s during sunrise and sunset that those colors are at a sharp angle and the clouds act as a prism separating them – especially the reds, pinks, and oranges. “High clouds are the canvas for the light in the red spectrum,” Small said.
Another factor that gives winter sunsets that extra visual value is low tide coinciding with the early sunsets, which creates a reflection of the crimson sky, and takes photos to another level of wonder.
“I love low tides and clouds,” said local photographer Evgeny Yorobe (on Instagram @evgenyyorobephotography), who uses a tide app on his phone to make sure he doesn’t miss an opportunity to shoot something spectacular.
“Being out in nature and being able to capture that perfect moment is something that I love,” said Yorobe, who has photos hanging in three area galleries, including Turquoise Cellars in Pacific Beach. “I love seeing the reactions my photos receive.”
While most people can pull out their phone and take pretty good sunset photos, there is one aspect that amateur photographers often ignore, and it can transform an ordinary photograph into an extraordinary piece of art.
“Interesting foregrounds and different perspectives,” said Eric Rubens, a Pacific Beach native who has more than 49,500 followers on Instagram (@erubes1). “I like to find different angles, use tide pools for reflections, or use caves to frame a shot.”
Rubens started out using the area’s most recognizable spots – the piers, Sunset Cliffs, Children’s Pool – as his foregrounds, but he now seeks out less trafficked and more interesting locations. “I look for beaches with more character and try to do something different,” he said. “That’s how I started growing as a photographer.”
All three photographers agreed that aspiring shutterbugs should “chase the light” and “just keep shooting and learning” to be able to improve their photos and maybe impress their friends on social media.
“Make it a challenge to do something original,” Rubens said.
“Just get out there, because you never know, it could always be an amazing sunset,” Davis said.
“And remember that the sky is the star,” Yorobe added. Best local spots for sunsets
Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma
Dog Beach in Ocean Beach
Jetty in Mission Beach
Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach
Tourmaline in North Pacific Beach
Bird Rock
Windansea in La Jolla
Hospitals Reef in La Jolla
Scripps Pier in La Jolla
Gliderport in Torrey Pines