Picture Perfect Moments

You know that feeling where you are in a moment and you want it to last forever? That is a picture perfect moment. This photograph that I am showing you is also one of those moments (for me).

It's not everyday that I see the world at 5 in the morning, but last summer, it was part of my routine: wake up at 5am, crush a crossfit workout at 6am, and then work at 8am. I was moving particularly slow one morning; it's hard to get up when it is still dark outside. But I eventually went downstairs to make a quick breakfast. It wasn't until I was in my kitchen that I saw out the window and noticed this incredible sky. I was then literally drawn to it, and went outside to get the full feel of this spooky, yet captivating natural experience.

When I stepped outside on to my front patio the sky felt heavy overhead and there was an unsettling energy in the air. I say unsettling, but I also got a feeling of calmness. My feelings were conflicting at the time. Why? How? What do you see when you look at this image? How does this unique sky speak to you?

Remembering back to my childhood, my father always used to say this expression: Red sky at night is a sailors delight; Red sky in the morning sailors take warning. Let me start off by saying that although the sky in this image is more of a pinkish colour, a "sailor", for the purpose of this expression would consider it to be red. We talk about how red symbolizes warning and caution, but why in the morning? And why is it that at night it means delight? It's got to be more than just simply that they rhyme. But what? Perhaps my initial reaction of feeling an unsettling energy was due to my recollection of this expression from my childhood. To take this another step further, perhaps my scepticism of this expression today contributes to my conflicting feelings that I experienced in this moment.

I also want to say that since I have been at university and away from home, I have come to appreciate these moments more. As a child and teen I wouldn't have ever really thought much about it. This view is one that I have been waking up to my whole life, but never before have I taken this much time to really soak it in, reflect on it, and admire it. There is something about being away from home for the past few years that makes me see my home environment differently. I took a picture of this moment because I knew it was one that I wanted to revisit, and recall the feeling that it gave me that morning in June.