This sunset photo taken on Jan. 24 will appear in "Skyblue Pink: 365 Days of Sunsets From Florida's Gulf Coast," a book that details 365 days of sunsets on Bonita Beach. Photo courtesy of Jason Schwartz
Jason Schwartz is the author of "Skyblue Pink: 365 Days of Sunsets From Florida's Gulf Coast," a book that he and his wife, Kristyn, put together after taking pictures at sunset every day this year.
A photo of an Aug. 24 sunset on Bonita Beach taken for a book entitled "Skyblue Pink: 365 Days of Sunsets From Florida's Gulf Coast." Photo courtesy of Jason Schwartz
Jason Schwartz and his wife, Kristyn, have spent the last 364 evenings visiting Bonita Beach taking pictures of the sunset and talking to curious locals.
“People come up to us all the time and ask what we are doing out here every day,” said Jason Schwartz, 33, of Estero, while sitting under an umbrella waiting for the sun to set. “We’ve made a few friends.”
Beachgoers have become familiar with the couple who sit in the same spot and take pictures of every sunset — every day, rain or shine, bugs or not — as part of a bonding experience that turned into a soon-to-be published book.
“We were looking for something to do this year that we could do together,” Jason said.
The Schwartzes have taken more than 13,000 pictures on the beach, about 40 per day, and will sort through them and choose one picture for each day of the year.
Jason, who is a graphic artist, will assemble the photos and design the book titled “Skyblue Pink: 365 Days of Sunsets From Florida’s Gulf Coast.” Each photo will contain the date, time of the sunset and other atmospheric data.
They hope it will give people an idea of what it was like to be on the beach every day and find an appreciation for nature.
“It changes every day out there and it’s totally different but you get to see it all,” said Kristyn Schwartz, 32, who has been caught in several lightning storms throughout the year. “It’s just nature and you never know what you will get.”
But the Schwartzes got more than they bargained for because in the process they’ve made friends like “Stan the flute man,” a recluse who plays his flute on the beach, as well as others who collect shells.
“Some pictures have people in them because it gives it that personal touch,” said Jason, who isn’t including people doing the “Bonita bend” — his description of rear ends in the air from beachgoers collecting shells.
The couple has one more day of picture-taking on the beach and they have an agreement with Presstige Printing in Bonita Springs to start production as soon as the last photo is taken Dec. 31.
But the plan was never to put together a book until supportive family and friends suggested the couple show off their pictures.
The Schwartzes thought it was a great idea.
“Our families have been supportive because we sometimes have to leave early from birthdays so we can come take pictures,” said Jason, who uses a $300 Sony Cybershot camera and has no previous photography experience.
Kristyn agrees the sacrifice was worth it despite having to keep up with their 7-year-old son, Braden, and Kristyn’s 13-year-old daughter, Katie.
“Life gets in the way of everything but we’ve made it out there every night, at least one of us, and it has hindered dinners and birthdays but it’s been worth it,” she said about their schedules that get so busy at times that only one of them gets to the beach.
But they always know what time the sun will set by looking online and keeping up to date by cell phone.
“I’m an expert when it comes to a sunset! You know when there is a lot of clouds, you can see there will be a nice sunset. If there are no clouds, it will just sink into the water,” Kristyn said.
Her husband, on the other hand, says it’s a surprise every time.
“I’m never disappointed because not every day is a perfect sunset and everything out there is alive,” said Jason, about visiting the beach and seeing turtles hatch, birds fly and dolphins swim near the shoreline.
All photos were taken on Bonita Beach, except one.
“My close friend’s mother died and we set sail that day from Marco Island to honor her death so that day the sunset on the Gulf isn’t from Bonita,” said Jason, who will dedicate that photo to his friend’s mother in the book.
For now they will print the book themselves and hope they can donate some of the proceeds to help remove the cigarettes, bottle caps and trash the couple saw accumulate throughout the year.
“We came out here every day and nobody was picking anything up, and it’s sad to see the beach that way,” said Jason, who has placed calls to local groups but none seems interested. “The experience has been everything from great to absolutely horrible because of the traffic to get to the beach every day or the bugs and rain.”
Despite the hardships, the Schwartzes are keeping their camera pointed till the sun sets for the last time this year.
“We set out to do it and we are driven to finish,” Jason said.
