How To Build A Sunset

The write ups around the Phenomenal show at MCASD last year emphasized that the light off the coast of Southern California was the inspiration for the aesthetic branch into the perceptual space.

I've spent enough time in Santa Monica to have some sense of what they were talking about, but couldn't quite internalize it. I decided a trip to Hermosa Beach was in order, and came up with the following:



First: you need the Pacific Ocean, or the moral equivalent -- something flat and turbulence free that extends well past the horizon, so no artifacts are introduced by something "just out of site."



Second: you need fog/smog or some such to diffuse the light, including any bounce from the surface





Third: some low clouds help





If it all comes together just right, it can even look like the sun splits in two as it drops down below the horizon.



You might think that you can't do this at home -- that is true, in a literal sense.

However, at a minimum, it can be useful in lighting and photographing fabrics.