Which do you prefer?  A sunrise or sunset?  Both sunrise and sunset are stunning, peaceful, and inspirational.  Given my typical late-night bedtime and appreciation for sleeping in, I can safely declare I prefer a sunset, but this doesn’t mean I’ve never seen a sunrise… 

On some rare occasions, with some persuasion from family or friends - or even a dare, I could roll out of bed and head to the nearest sunrise.  One memorable occasion was when my husband and I went to Maui years ago.  We took part in the Haleakala sunrise bicycle tour.  The tour company took us up the crater to watch the sunrise at an insanely early morning hour.  Then, after watching one of the most beautiful sunrises, we rode our bicycles down the mountain.  And, more recently, our friends who visited us at Cape Cod this summer wanted to see the sunrise because we missed the sunset the previous evening by maybe two minutes.  Waking up early on my vacation day is not something I normally do, but I reluctantly obliged.

As beautiful as both sunrise and sunset, can you tell the difference between the two in photos?  Generally, the light produced by the sun is similar during sunrise and sunset.  However, due to more pollutants in the atmosphere during the daytime or by the end of the day, the light tends to scatter more during sunset and thus creates different layers of colors.  As a result, the light appears pinker and redder at sunset.

During sunrise, the atmosphere has less pollutants and the light from the sun is more defined and concentrated.  The light appears brighter and more yellow.  Yes, it is still tricky to identify the difference between sunset and sunrise in photos.  If there’s a landscape in the picture, one could look for other clues such as the presence of dew which indicates the early morning or the dryness of land which suggests sunset.  Below are some pictures of sunsets and sunrises.  Can you guess which is which?