Why Are We So Attracted to Sunrise and Sunset Photos?

The draw of sunrises and sunsets is undeniable, and it’s hard to deny the excitement of witnessing the amazing spectacle of light and rich colours fill the sky. Perhaps it’s the feeling of witnessing a unique event that draws us in, the constantly evolving nature of the light only reacting with the clouds and weather conditions may be an event that occurs each and every day of our lives, but one that will never quite be the same as any since or any to come.

One of the reasons we may love sunrises and sunsets so much is because of all the different colours/ shades of colours that are involved. The notion of colour harmony, known simply as an arrangement of colours which offer a visual experience that is balanced and pleasing to the viewer. Something that is not harmonious will either be perceived as too boring or too chaotic. It is also dictated by personal preferences, dependent upon a number of factors including age, gender, and cultural and social conditioning as well as the influence of the context in which the colours are being seen. This goes some way in suggesting that we learn that sunrises and sunsets are visually stimulating, however, colour theory also suggests a more instinctive natural response.Colour harmony arises when three related colours are combined, and from the colour wheel, we can see that that three main colours found in either a sunrise or sunset, red, orange and yellow, fall side-by-side. Colour theory also suggests that "warmer" colours, of which these three are the most prominent, are more likely to arouse and stimulate the viewer as a result of the higher saturation of colour. It could be suggested that our response to a sunrise or sunset is simply a natural visual stimulation that ignites a cognitive emotional response.

My Proposal.

In this assignment I am going to produce a series of photos taken at sunrise and sunset around the area that I live in. These will be photographs embracing the different colours in the sky, as well as capturing the urban city vibes. I am taking these photographs to put my own twist on the typical sunset and sunrise horizon images that you would find on the Internet.
My photographs are going to be taken at all different angles, to try and capture something different and I may aslo do somethings with perspective but a majority of my photos will be taken landscape. I may also create some panoramas too.
The types of pictures that I am aiming to produce are ones that you would see in a magazine or on a poster. These pictures aren't been taken with a purpose like to try and sell something, they are simply just to look at and enjoy. Meaning my audience can experience the same city views that I do.
I will not need permission to go to any of the places that I want to photograph, as they are all out in public areas. The problem is not actually the place I go to photograph, but the time as I can photograph anywhere in Burton but will only have the sunrise and sunset between certain hours.
When I go out to take my photos I will definitely need to take my tri-pod with me. Although it doesn't matter if every picture isn't perfectly straight, I will need it to be able to produce panoramas. 

Inspiration.

While researching I came across a website called http://photography.tutsplus.com/ where I found this image... 

This is the exact kind of image that I will be trying to produce. There is the sun setting over the city, with all the nice warm colours and the shaded buildings in the background. The image looks nice and peaceful but still has a pinch of urban within it. 

My Ideas.

I was really struggling to think of a theme for this assignment, so to try and spark off some ideas I typed  'Expanding Horizons' in to Google to see what came up. 

Results that came up on Google Images for Expanding Horizons

These where the results that came up. 

I sat and looked at these images and how pretty each of the different horizons are, and then that's when I decided I could do something similar and also photograph horizons. Horizons are so pleasing on the eye to look at, with all the different colours and shades in the sky, but i would be able to take photos like this as I dont live near a beach, or in a particularly 'pretty' area. 

Whenever I've previously gone to photograph the sunset buildings and houses always get in the way, this gave me the idea for a theme of 'City Horizons'.

The sky is equally nice at sunrise and sunset weather in the countryside or in the city, so im going to show sundown from my point of view. 

Introduction.

In this assignment I aim to broaden my ability to select and visually record from a range of sources in order to communicate information to different audiences.

The theme “Expanding Horizons” is about reaching out to the wider communities in Derbyshire and beyond. The theme is open to individual and imaginative interpretation. 

The piece will be judged on originality, and imaginative interpretation of the brief. It should be innovative and engaging and show a high level of technical ability. The work must be of excellent quality in both materials and application. Students are invited to use the piece for their current art practice,  provided they can show the work is original for the competition.

This assignment requires me to plan and prepare my approach in creating artwork for a competition.  There are strict deadlines involved; therefore I must ensure that I demonstrate good time management. Research relevant source material, explore and experiment with visual recording techniques in order to refine my ideas and then write a proposal of my intentions, supported by visual examples.

For this assignment I will present all of my working progress online, in the form of a blog. I am required to experiment with and review a range of photographs, which can be integrated into the creation of my final piece. My practical experimentation and recording should be underpinned by contextual research on other artists’ interpretation of the theme.