Rationale:
Whether it was on a romantic date, or while trying to gather ones thoughts, everyone at some point in their lives has sat down to admire the brightest star in the world. While studying in Australia for the past few months I have been lucky enough to witness some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets in my life. This is why choosing a topic for my photography project was easy.
To me, the sun is one of the greatest astonishments in the world. Without the sun, nothing would be here. The sun is a form of shelter. It keeps us warm and is the reason our crops grow. Everything that is beautiful in the world is tied to the sun. It is a known fact the sunlight is earth’s primary source of energy. Through what is known as photosynthesis, plants use the energy from the sun and convert it to oxygen. Since we live on oxygen, the importance of the sun is unmeasurable. It sits at the centre of our solar system and is over 100 times larger than the earth. While other things in our life might fail, the sun never does; it can never take a day off. Every day the sun rises and sets and reminds us that each day is a new beginning.
My idea was to try and catch the sun in different times of the day. The three main times of the day I thought would work best were sunrise, afternoon, and sunset. I think that the sun looks especially majestic during the sunrise and sunset so I took most of my photos during those times. I really enjoyed working on this project because I love watching sunsets. Before this project, I can’t remember the last time I woke up for a sunrise unless I stayed up all night. To me, many of my shots were breathtaking. Every day the sunset is different from the last and it is even more special when you watch it in different locations. I was able to take photos in multiple locations in both Australia and New Zealand. At first my idea was to just capture sunsets but after camping in an Australian National Forest I changed my mind. We hiked every day very early in the morning and climbed big mountains to watch the sun. I made sure to bring my camera so I could capture these amazing scenes.
Taking photos of the sun during the middle of the day was difficult because it was too bright and would look bad. Often times I tried taking photos of the sun behind objects so the photo wouldn’t be too bright. My favourite shots I captured were when the sun looked to be engulfed in a cloud. When the sun is behind a cloud it completely lights the cloud up and makes a jaw dropping picture. In one photo I was able to capture a picture of the sky before the sun had even risen. It was by far my favourite photo. It was dark enough that you can see Mars in the top right corner of the image but yet light enough that you could see the different shades of red and yellow. This truely was the highlight of my project. I climbed a mountain in Girraween National Park with a group of guys at 4 A.M. just to capture this astonishing picture. Once I took a couple photos I slept for a couple hours and then woke up to take some more of the sunrise.
The two photos in my project that have a lake in them were actually taken in New Zealand. I stayed near beautiful Lake Taupo which is the largest lake in New Zealand. I especially liked these photos because of how the sun reflected off the water. I was very lucky to get these photos because both days it rained but stopped just hours before the sunset.
Since I would only be in Australia a few months I knew I had to do some travelling around. I decided I would try and get photos of the sun in many of the different places I went. In this album I have photos from two national parks, the Gold Coast, and New Zealand. Had I known about this project sooner I would have tried to get some photos while I was in Fiji. However, I really got the idea for my project on my first camping trip when I saw my first Australian sunset. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I must have sat on that mountain top for an hour just admiring how amazing the view was. I couldn’t help but choose the sun for my project after that. I get enjoyment every time I get to see the sun go down. Watching the sunset and rise helps to keep me grounded and reminds me that there is something bigger than me out there.
Digital Diary:
The camping trips I took during the semester are what really inspired me to choose the sun as my project. We hiked up 1200 meter high peaks just to witness the spectacular view from the top. We were all willing to work so hard to watch the sun for a brief moment as it dropped down. This proved to me that obviously this really is a spectacular event, even if it happens every day. This is why I wanted to get photos of the sun in different areas and at different times.
I did have some troubles during the project. It was very hard to get photos of the sun during the day that wouldn’t be too bright. This is why most of my photos are from sunsets and sunrises. I have 1 photo of the sun during the day; it is hidden between two large buildings which blocked much of the brightness which made it possible to see.
After hiking nearly 20 kilometres in one day, four of us ran up Mount Norman at Girrween National Park to get this photo. Nobody even cared about how tired they were. We all just wanted to get to the top and look at the view. This is the photo we got at the top. This photo inspired me and is one of my favourites.
This is my other favourite photo. This was 2 hours before the sun came up and yet you can still see the beautiful yellows and reds it paints in the sky. If you look at the top right you can even see mars.
I liked these photos but I thought that the camera was zoomed in a little too much to make a really high-quality shot. I like how the sun is engulfed in the cloud.
I took this photo in the Gold Coast from my hotel room. I really liked it but those buildings are blocking most of the sun.
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