Sonoran Sunset 1

“Sonoran Sunsets #1” is th

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e photograph that sparked an entire series. It was taken in Scottsdale, Arizona, not far from where I worked at the time, and it happened shortly after I bought my first professional camera. I didn’t know it then, but this moment would launch both my sunset collection and my first Arizona sunset calendar.
That evening, the desert sky put on a show. As the sun dropped toward the horizon, it exploded into a starburst of fiery beams, lighting up the clouds with deep blues, glowing golds, and streaks of red. The desert foreground shimmered in the last warm light of the day, giving the entire scene a rich, almost dreamlike feel. I stood there amazed at how dramatically the light shifted from minute to minute.
This image quickly became one of my most reproduced works. It has appeared across multiple print mediums, anchored my first sunset calendar, and even inspired stylized versions in the RTR Photo Art collection. More importantly, it was the moment I realized how powerful and unpredictable Arizona’s skies can be—and how much I wanted to chase sunsets from that point forward.
“Sonoran Sunsets #1” remains the foundation of the entire series, a reminder of where this creative journey truly began.