I just got back from Costa Rica where I photographed a beautiful wedding. Getting to know the couple a little better as well as their families is always a wonderful perk for me.
One tradition I have is to get up and shoot the sunrise on one of the last days that I'm at the destination. I love photographing the sense of place, the details, everything. I looked up what time the sunrise occurred and was very grateful for my experience photographing landscapes because I knew that I needed to be present and accounted for well before the published sunrise time. I dragged my behind out of bed the last morning in Costa Rica, looked for scorpions in my shoes before I put them on, grabbed my camera and headed down to the beach. I sat in quiet solitude, if you don't count the sounds of the monkeys and birds raining down on me.
For me, sunrises and sunsets are greetings from a higher power. I like to think of them as a little wish for a good day, or a pat on the back for doing good during the day. God and I like to connect during these usually-tranquil times (again, if you don't count the birds and monkeys in the trees). It is a perfect time to thank the creator for my life, my family, friends and all the richness in my life that money cannot buy.
I saw a beautiful hue in the sky, but had the feeling to wait - more is coming. So, I waited and meditated a little.... and more came. I could not see these clouds until the sun got right in the position it needed to to show them to me in all their rosey splendor over the Papagayo Bay. I snapped away for a little while.
I had a little smile when right at the published sunrise time a few groups of people with enthusiast-looking camera gear scurried onto the beach with their eyes on the sky. By this time, the best color had faded and I thought to myself, "aww, they missed the best part of the show".
More pictures from beautiful Costa Rica will be coming. I challenge you all to exist in the moment for just a few minutes when you witness beautiful skies. Take a minute to thank your higher-power for the bounty in your life. In Costa Rica they have a saying, "Pura Vida", which means "Pure Life". Indeed it is!
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