Autumnal equinox was a photographer's dream

Every year, twice a year, the sun sets directly beneath the Deception Pass bridge – on the Spring equinox and the Autumnal equinox. For years it has been a kind of ritual for photographers to gather at this spot on Cornet Bay to line up their cameras and shoot the phenomenon. Some do timelapse. Some set up on the beach when the tide is low. Some stay up above the beach at a specific spot where there is an ideal opening.

Every year is different. Sometimes clouds cover the sun, sometimes the clouds are the stars of the show. Photographers who gather to shoot this passage of seasons often cheer when a boat or kayak moves into the image at just the right moment. Nobody really cares that everyone is shooting the same subject. It's fun to share the moment and when the sun does make an appearance, it goes down surprisingly fast. Many people start going out to shoot pics days or even a week or two before the actual day of the equinox. This year the weather forecast was for clouds on the day of the actual equinox, so fellow photographer Sarah Walls and I went out on the night of the 21st and captured the very last sunset of summer along with about 10 other photographers from around the Puget Sound. When the sun finally dipped below the horizon there was quiet applause. It was all too brief, but Summer 2022 went out in spectacular fashion.