Spectacular Coastal Sunsets from Three Continents

Hi there,

I have always been intrigued by the rich color of evening sunlight along the coast. The following four images depict different qualities of light ranging from silver or gold to the orange blending with white of a burning furnace.

The North Sea, Belgium

This image was taken in May 2012 in De Panne, Belgium during a late spring evening as the sun slowly sank to the horizon. At this point, the sun still had a ways to go as it bathed the beach and tidal flats with a silvery white light. I walked around the tidal area next to a bustling promenade of hotels and restaurants, taking pictures as my feet accidentally crunched long narrow shells. The gulls stood right in the surf, searching for broken shellfish or other sea critters to eat until someone's escaped dog splashed through the waves and sent them into the sky with terror. A moment later, they landed on another section of the beach to begin anew their search for food, oblivious of the danger that had caused such a disruption just moments before.

The Pacific Ocean, Seaside, Oregon

This image was taken on a cold November evening in Seaside, Oregon in 2010, just a few days after Thanksgiving. We had spent the week in the frozen mountains of North Idaho followed by a couple days in Portland while the busy Christmas season was getting underway, so we decided to spend a few days in a quiet apartment in Seaside while walking along the beach and visiting art galleries in Cannon Beach. We arrived in the midsts of a heavy cold rain that was blown sideways by a strong wind, so we spent much of the vacation in our hotel. Finally, one evening the rain stopped and the clouds broke to provide the spectacular sunset that is depicted above. The bright orange sky and the hot white sun reflected by the waves was a nice contrast to the dark clouds that had just vacated the scene.

Puget Sound, Seattle

This image was taken in September 2008, just as the news of the ongoing global financial crisis was breaking. Washington Mutual, one of Seattle's largest banks, had announced its closure with all the doom and gloom newspaper headlines that reminded me of the beginnings of the Great Depression eighty years before. This image of the Seattle Waterfront and the Olympic Mountains was taken just a few blocks from WaMu's corporate headquarters. The golden light reflected off the old building contrasting with the distant mountains, the iron blue water, and the silhouettes of the pier and lamp posts, provided much needed tranquility and solace from the looming bad news.

The Mediterranean near Rabat, Morocco

This image was taken in a small fishing village on the outskirts of Rabat, the capital of Morocco. I was staying in a coastal hotel next to this village, and I really enjoyed walking along the beach past the bright blue and yellow fishing boats that were usually already pulled up on the beach long before I made it outside the hotel. As the sun sank below the horizon, people splashed in the waves, played soccer matches, or carefully repaired fishing nets while they awaited the following morning's foray into the waves. 

Please share your experiences of coastal sunsets in the comments below. I'll also be happy to answer your questions concerning the topic. I would love to connect on social media.

Regards,

Sam