Another way to avoid the standard sunset cliché (which we all love to take) is to shoot the effect of the sunset instead of photographing the sunset itself. In this shot, taken from Point Loma Harbor opposite downtown San Diego, the sun is at my back. It illuminates the cloud overhead, which in turn reflects on the water. Two other factors work for me here: the shaded skyline abstracts the city – it’s there, but it does not compete with the delicate golden colors in the cloud and on the water. And the gull I happened to catch has just broken free of the clouds and soars against a clear blue sky. I know – this shot comes very close to the line between cliché and non-cliché, but I’m a sucker for the gull in the sky shot. Yet this gull works because it is so small, and does not conflict with the beauty of scene. It brings an extra touch of the sea to this image, and that’s what a harbor scene is all about.