Extinguishing The Flame - A story of new places and new beginnings - A Clearwater beach sunset

So much more than a gorgeous sunset, this photo represents a time in my life of a lot of change and needing to be more independent.

This photo was taken on Clearwater Beach the day before my birthday in 2019. It was April 21st, and I had just moved to Tampa a couple weeks before this. My friend and his girlfriend had helped me move and hung out for the first week, but when they left I had to start figuring out living in a new place, and having a new job largely on my own.

This was also going to be my first birthday that I didn't have dinner with my parents, so I didn't want to just sit in my apartment the whole weekend before and do nothing. So i packed up my camera gear and decided to spend take the surprisingly long drive from my apartment in Tampa to Clearwater Beach and enjoy a sunset. I parked pretty far away from the pier so that I would have a decent walk on the beach before I reached the pier.

Being a Sunday evening might've been keeping people away, because the beach was not very busy. I was able to walk along the shore and take some photos of the palm trees and small dunes lining the edge of the beach. I got a couple photos of some of the birds and some seashells before reaching the pier just as the sun was setting and the sky was filling with the bright orange glow that is present in this photo.

I moved around the pier finding different angles to get photos of before finding this one and instantly knowing it was going to be a good angle. The seagull flying over the pier was truly the cherry on top of an already great photo. I took a few more photos of the sunset and pier and started my trek back to the car.

I went home that night really proud of myself not just for getting photos I knew I would be happy with but also for getting out of my apartment and going on this mini adventure by myself. The rest of my time in Tampa wasn't easy by any means but this evening helped me realize I could handle it.

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