This was the sunset over Enfield last evening.  I was stunned with its beauty and for the first time, after photographing it, I realized why so many people use the hashtag “nofilter”.  I manipulate images all the time before posting them – to me that’s part of the fun of Instagram.  Take a mediocre image and play with it a little then post.  Instagram says it all for me – Instant.  I have to say that most of the time I try to post something that is worthy of a look and take time in composition, exposure, etc. even if it is on my phone.

When I stopped to photograph this last night it was with that usual little panic about finding the right spot (as I’m driving), then that level of frustration about using a phone to try to do justice to the scene.  I took 6 shots, I deleted 4.  As I photographed I would look at the finished result and think to myself, “Is this the best representation of what I am seeing?”  Honestly a panoramic would have done a better job to relay what I was feeling about this sunset sky, the enormity of it but in the end this was what I got.  I posted it with just a comment about its stunning beauty and felt many of the people who saw the image probably would have seen this sky in one iteration or another.

Some times nature is so beautiful it defies words or photography.  When I see stunning photographs by excellent photographers I doubt their authenticity sometimes.  In this day of Photoshop it is easy to doubt.  At the same time I think we need to trust that the people who are posting wonderful photographs are giving us what they want us to see.  Everyone’s idea of beauty is their own and by sharing what they think is a beautiful image should be taken just for what it is – a glimpse into their soul.