The power of the Sunset - The Witching Hour
Sunsets always seemed a very powerful image to me. Just recently, while commenting on a post by @evilhippie, the question came back: What is it that makes sunsets such powerful imagery?
Perhaps in our subconscious, there are still traces of ancient experiences, when the setting sun meant that the people would soon return to the safety of their home & the warmth of their hearth. Thus, sunset is connected to safety, relaxation, coziness & home, things that humans always look for and enjoy.
On the other hand, the night brings many fears. There are shadows, monsters, death waiting in the dark. Fear is the most primal feeling, and the most powerful. Thus a sunset that triggers those strong feelings of fear, can only be awe-inspiring as an image, too.
Finally, the more practical approach is a bit technical. During sunset all hues become deep and warm, as the sunlight has to travel more through the atmosphere; this causes the colder blue hues to scatter, while the warm ones remain, giving a beautiful golden tint. Objects seem more textured and high contrast can be achieved as some areas are in total shadow & others are richly lit. This results in beautiful colors and contrast, making an impressive picture.
Personally, I think that something stirs in our subconscious when watching the sun set, a deeply-rooted instinct of fear of what is coming in the dark. The fear of the Witching Hour.
So, what do you think?
(all photos taken & edited by me)
I think is the "darkness" we all have inside.
Nice article and mezmerizing photos. Enjoyed reading!
Restm n' upv.
Yes, maybe the lure of the darkness is something hidden in the psyche of everyone! Thanks.
Our sun setting beyond the horizon always captured my imagination. It is hard now to find the time to enjoy nature's majesty, when one lives in a big city and gets caught on its frantic pace, feeling a burden that will not allow pleasure to be given as a magnificent event unfolds before his eyes. Yet I remember while I was younger and care free that when the last rays of our life giver intruded into our atmosphere and transformed the scenery to something almost alien, I was compelled to silent submission before his overwhelming power and indisputable grandeur, even for the few minutes it took for blackness to be dominant.
On the other hand sunset is the herald of darkness, whispering with a faint voice two-fold secrets that if you dare, you must walk into the night to hear them well...
Wow, I read that a few times in order to get all the meaning that is condensed in that paragraph! Thanks for that awesome comment.
Very impressive photos @nyarlathotep, they give me a feeling of nostalgia when sunsets were an important enough image to stand and watch for a few moments.Interesting thoughts also:) Upvoted and resteemed:)
Thank you, perhaps the Girl of Hopeful Sunrise can dispel the Fear of the Dark!
I bet she could:)
Great Photos. I see more sunrises than sunsets, just due to where my workstation is in the house. But both are eyecatching.
Thanks. Technically, a sunset shares the same characteristics with a sunrise, due to the sun's position in the sky and how its light is transformed after going through the atmosphere. It's the Golden Hour of Photography.
Here in the North we have very dark winters and the sunset in November or December is mostly just a wet gray dimming of the light. Witching hour at 16:00
One of the fears of the old Norse was that the winter would continue throughout the summer and this winter even had a name: Fimbul, one of the signs that Ragnarok would come. Therefore we celebrate the time when the sun will return again and we even have kept the old name of this celebration: Jul, a heathen name for Christmas. In the midsummer it never really gets dark. A very long sunset that slowly transforms into a very long sunrise.
In other words, Winter Is Coming!
Norse mytholgy is very interesting, with the Runes, the Gods and the Valkyries. An old video game, Ultima, was the first time I read about runes, and I was impressed a lot by the Norse culture. Of course, Christianity was built on the concepts of older religions, Roman, Norse and Egyptian, but this would be the subject of another post (or rather, several posts!).
Yes, there is no doubt where Martin got that from. I am looking forward to your post on mythology. I am very interested in that subject.
You might enjoy a series of steemit articles about runes, the Secrets of the Scandinavian Gods.
I am a little picky when it comes to the scripture of my forefathers, but I'll give it a look. Meanwhile you can see this image I made of Odin hanging in the Yggdrasil to gain to magic of the runes - called the mead of the skald:
https://steemit.com/art/@katharsisdrill/odin-hanging-from-the-ask-yggdrasil
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STOPI love them... but then again, I can't really be objective... I find home enchanting anyway... <3
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