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Sundown is a special time of day. On an evening with a red glow in the dusk you can understand how our distant ancestors might have worshipped the sun as a god. Few people, when they are outdoors on such an evening, will fail to stare at the scene for a while.

This picture goes for the essence of such a scene. The glow of the setting sun varies through various hues of yellow and pale blue as one gets farther from the red glow, which is seen through a tracery of bare tree branches. The distant hills are colored purple by the faint dusky light. As the sky darkens the stars gradually start to stand out from the background. A cresent moon completes the picture. In reality one does not see the stars until the sky is quite dark -- but this is art not photography.

Dawn and dusk are magic times of day to many people, but they have received little attention from visual artists. (Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is the big exception). It is a tricky thing to capture as the whole light and color sequence changes greatly from minute to minute. Photographers sometimes attempt to capture dawn and dusk scenes but they are very "contrasty" and hard to get right.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou are mindful of him? Psalm 8:3-4.

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