The Fence at Sunset

What makes a sunset photo work—and why it’s rarely just about the sky.

Watching the sky is one thing. Photographing it is another.

I love sunsets. I always have. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching the sky change color as the day winds down. I think my favorite spot in the world is the hill behind my house at sunset. That slow fade from blue to orange to gold to deep purple, it’s never the same twice, and yet I know the rhythm by heart.

But watching a sunset is different than trying to photograph one.

A sunset is an experience that happens over a period of time. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. The clouds move. The temperature drops. The breeze changes. The birds get quiet. You feel it. But the moment you click the shutter, you flatten that whole experience into a single frame. And if all that’s in the frame is sky—no matter how beautiful—it starts to feel the same as every other sky photo out there. I have hundreds of them on my computer drives.

That’s why I look for something to anchor it.

A tree. A barn. A stone wall. A wire fence.

Something else in the frame that’s also experiencing the sunset in its own way. That helps ground the image in a moment. It becomes a picture not just of a sunset, but of the way that light touches something real. Something close. Something that places me in the scene too.

The fence in this image wasn’t part of the plan. I was just out for a walk. But as the sun dropped and the sky began to glow, I looked around—and those weather worn posts and boards became the thing that made the photo work.

It’s a small reminder: when photographing something big and obvious, look for the thing that’s quietly sharing the moment with you. That’s often where the story is.

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.

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Another book that I have found inspiring is Guy Tal’s More Than a Rock. The book contains essays on creativity. Guy attempts to show more in his images than just the appearance of a subject. I highly recommend this book to anyone who attempting to capture more from the moments around them with a camera.