At PJ Lifestyle last year I experimented with a feature called “PJ Lifestyle Sunshine” where I gathered photographs and videos of wonderful sunrises and sunsets, including those I’d shot myself, reader submissions, and great ones available for embedding via Instagram.
I’ve been waking at usually around 4 AM the past few years and have really come to look forward to the sunrise each morning. Now I’m trying to get more balanced and get sunsets too. Here’s the collection I assembled last year across my two Instagram accounts. I started out taking just photos but as the year progressed and new capabilities were added to Instagram I started experimenting with video, music, and sped-up effects. Maura the Siberian Husky also makes plenty of appearances and I threw in a few Sun-related commentaries on my new favorite movie. (I probably watched Fantasia a few dozen times last year. The rising and setting of the sun and its symbolism in our lives is one of its central themes to those who watch closely…)
January
3rd:
4th:
5th:
6th:
7th:
http://instagram.com/p/i445Sgo7O0/
8th:
10th:
21st:
22nd:
http://instagram.com/p/jeaOm7I7JU/
23rd:
26th:
28th:
29th (my 30th birthday!)
31st:
February
2nd:
4th:
12th:
March
3rd:
10th:
20th:
22nd:
April
9th:
15th:
24th:
26th:
May
5th:
17th:
June
20th:
(Over the summer we moved from Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley to Inglewood in South Los Angeles to be near my wife’s new art studio.)
July
3rd:
12th:
14th:
20th (via Fantasia): ;-)
http://instagram.com/p/qsCMb2o7Ie/
21st:
29th:
30th:
August
1st (again, via Fantasia, the movie I obsessed over the most in 2014, and will probably continue to dissect and pick apart as my movie-in-the-background-by-default)
2nd:
September
12th:
25th (seriously, watch Fantasia again and note the motif of the sunrise and sunset throughout the various segments. Disney knew what he was doing. It’s his greatest film.):
October
4th:
5th:
6th:
10th:
16th:
19th:
November
9th:
16th:
17th:
20th:
22nd:
23rd:
24th:
December
5th, another secret about Fantasia for those who have made it to the final month:
5th, and a speculation about the first sunrise and the beginning of Fantasia:
8th:
7th:
8th:
http://instagram.com/p/wYJmCwTgz1/
9th:
14th:
20th:
21st:
28th:
http://instagram.com/p/xJ4ytSTg8J/
Today, January 1, 2015:
Best wishes to everyone this year! If you’re looking for something to try and change then I very strongly encourage an early-riser routine. Getting to see the sunrise every morning is a wonderful gift. Don’t miss it!