I had been preparing for days , getting ready with my gear and making sure my batteries were fully charged. I had already envisioned where I would position myself at Taga Beach across from the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino — one of the best places to watch the sunset.
I was supposed to board a 5 p.m. flight but we were waiting for three more passengers who did not show up so Star Marianas Air had to fly only me and a buddy to Tinian. I chose to sit in the center of the six-seat plane while my buddy sat at the back.
Sighing in frustration as we taxied on the runway and flew up to over a thousand feet above Saipan, I knew there was no way I could reach Taga Beach on time to shoot my last sunset of the year. Looking out the window, adrenalin suddenly flowed in my veins as I grabbed the camera and started clicking. The sun was peeking behind thick dark clouds and casting multi-colored reflections on the sea. It was my first time to capture the setting sun from 1,500 up above and it was just thrilling.
Landing at the Tinian airport, my buddy tried to comfort me for missing out my last sunset but little did he know that I got more than what I had hoped for.
I may not have taken the best photos because we were flying but I experienced something that gave me access to one of the most beautiful things in life. I promised to capture the first sunrise of 2011 with my camera the following morning but the parties ended at 4 a.m. and the next thing I knew, it was almost 1 a.m. and the flight back to Saipan was scheduled in less than an hour.
If you haven’t tried watching the sunset from up above, do it sometime. It is worth it.
