An Evening Dip

Beach partiers having drinks and taking in the beautiful sunset instead of dancing

There is nothing more fulfilling and breathtaking than going to the beach at sunset instead of during the mid day or morning. Something about the calmness at dusk just makes the beach experience a little more spiritual. There is a lull in the excitement of the people and a reverence for the enthralling view of the sun setting amidst the waves, producing an explosion of color and catching the sky on fire! And after the sun sets completely, the twilight just ends the day on a magical note and you have dinner feeling satisfied and complete no matter how horrible of a life you were having.

Bathers enjoying the tropical gifts

We visited Mount Irvine Beach in Tobago for our sunset bath. The fairly lights in the trees had just come on and the sun had not yet reached the horizon. This gave me time to enjoy the waters before bringing out the camera to get some shots of the sun passing the horizon. This was the first time I would be using my new Sony Alpha A7IV for beach sunset photos and I was quite excited!

The party goers at the beach bar stopped their dancing and prancing to take in the scenes as the sun got closer to the horizon. I too had gotten out of the sea and had my camera at the ready! Little did I know that I would be getting some of the most amazing shots I had ever gotten that soon became my absolute favourites!

World on Fire

I got This magnificent shot of a girl sitting on the sand staring off into the distance. This was such a powerful scene to me. Her posture and demeanor was just right. What was she thinking about? What emotions were flowing through her mind at the time? The sky and clouds as well as the waves could not be more perfect.

The boats in the distance looked much like they were on the horizon along with the sun itself and so I could not help but try to capture them. I tried so many angles but the one captured above is my favorite. I went really low to the sand and managed to get a wave cresting at the same time. What a composition! The two boats seemed to be friends floating together looking at the sunset as they happened to be facing the right direction!

While low down on the sands I also managed to get an enthralling shot of the waves crashing against the shore. Mount Irvine is a very calm beach so crashing is probably the wrong intensity to use but you get the point! Plus this speaks to how low to the ground I was when the shot was taken. I just can't get over how the sunlight plays with the water drops, making them look like glass ornaments frozen in time.

By this time, the sun had passed the horizon but the show was not over. The sky seemed to have caught on fire and the clouds became a scarlet red characteristic of Tobagonian sunsets. The waters as I previously mentioned were extremely calm as usual and with the boats on the water, everything seemed to look like an elaborate but alluring painting, the clouds themselves resembling brush strokes on canvas!

All the evening beachers had their smartphones out all this time taking in and recording the beautiful sights. I managed to capture this couple taking selfies and so on. It is quite fascinating to see people enjoying nature's beauty in their own way during an era where the internet renders the outdoors less favorable.

Here, above, is another but unobstructed view of the sky just after the sun had crossed the horizon. Its awesome that the water as well as the sands took on the hues of the sky!

It is not often that we head to the beach at sunset time but when we do, we wonder why ever do we not do it 100% of the time. Of course there is merit to the tropical sunshine beach day but the alternative is more favorable for us Caribbean islanders as we are always in the tropical sun anyway and we love cooler temperatures. Mount Irvine is even more beautiful at dusk and I would definitely return on our next visit to the island of Tobago. Thanks for coming along, cheers!