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Nature’s Collection: Sun & Sky

Twilight Rays
while returning home from a long bike trip, i noticed some cumulus clouds blowing by as the sun was getting low. Predicting a scenic sunset in the making, i rapidly peddled to find a good vantage point. It seemed the sun was setting abnormally quick, colours were coming and going quickly as i was searching about to gain a few extra feet in elevation. No time to climb a tree or gain access to a rooftop, so a nearby fence post was my only resort. It was at least four-inches square but cut at a slight angle so staying on top with fatigued legs was a bit of a challenge. Wiggling about, i managed to establish a light reading as my balance failed and i fell to the ground. While i was on a more stable surface, i set my exposure time and climbed back up the post. This time i managed to set my focus and adjusted my lens for a good composure before falling off again. Third time up, everything is set and only seconds to spare, big breath out to steady my body as much as possible to capture this beautiful sunset image before falling back to the ground. The streaming rays of light withdrew and the colour faded almost as quickly as it began; the spectacular event was certainly over but at least it was now preserved for lifetimes of enjoyment.

Rainbow Window
eastern Utah

Top of the World
Standing next to the high-elevation 'Science City' atop Mount Haleakala, all i can see are these clouds and the small patch of land i'm standing on.

Desert Rainbow
It was late spring in the Utah desert and I got caught in a light rain shower. It was hot, so the rain felt nice, but I still didn't want to get soaked and be encumbered with wet clothes. I stooped under a tree about the height of a house (tall for the region) and let it shelter me from most of the rain. In about 30 minutes, it turned to a fine mist and I continued up the mountain. Soon the sun started to peek out and turned my surroundings to a steamy sauna. Whenever the sun comes out after a rain, I immediately look for the possibility of a rainbow. Rainbows are so beautiful and last only a moment, that I do everything possible to capture one onto film. Sure enough, one started to emerge right in front of me, but was mostly obscured by the ground, so I started to run up the hill for a better view. The mountainside was steep and seemed to never end. Each time I thought I could see it leveling off, by the time I got there, it continued upward. I was exhausted and time was quickly counting down. I managed to make my way to a partial overlook and captured ¾ of the arch of colour before it faded away.

Cloud Lace
i was getting into position to capture another event and became momentarily distracted by this interesting cloud pattern in the early morning sky.

Ka'anapali Sunset 2
Ka'anapali Beach is famous for it's gentle shallow waters and beautiful sunsets.

Saguaro Sunset
Southern Arizona wilderness

Clouds 2

Plane View
I am often quite bored during long flights and look for anything to do within the confined cabin space. Sometimes the cloud levels are just right while the sun is lower for better light, and I take the time to set up a tripod and camera on the flight. Tight spots like this are fantastic for my Trekker tripod. It is so versatile and accommodating to the oddest of places I wish to place a camera. Getting a few curious looks from nearby passengers, I carefully scout for a nice grouping of clouds to occupy my time. I usually try to avoid any view of the plane or wing, but this time it was unavoidable in my row. As it turns out, I really liked how the wing establishes where the photo was taken and prefer it over many shots from other flights.

Winter Set
graduated sunset colours behind a silhouette of winter trees

Blue Rainbow
now here's something you don't see everyday... a beautiful rainbow arching across what appears to be a clear blue sky.

Above the Clouds
Trying not to sound like an advertisement for tripods, but I really love my Benbo Trekker. It is an extremely well engineered piece of British equipment and is the only tripod that has accommodated every place I have desired to place a camera. For this photo, I'm set up between the seats on a 737 so I could capture this through the window.

Polar Rainbow
One of the last places I expected to see a rainbow is at the north pole. The sun is at high-noon (which is not very high) and is refracting and reflecting off the ice to create this unusual rainbow through the tiny ice crystals in the air (more properly called 'heiligenschein' or back-scattering).

Banyan Sunset 1
Banyan tree silhouettes and reflections in Horseshoe Lake (southern Illinois) during sunset

Luna
It was late evening, the sky still a royal blue, and the moon started to rise above the tree line. It was high enough to not have obvious atmospheric distortion, but still low enough to have some natural magnification from the air. It's about a day before being completely full and the conditions were too ideal to pass by the photo opportunity.

In the Clouds 1

Morning Rays
early morning at the top of Bryce Canyon

Mile High Sunrise
Sunrise on the high plateau of Colorado.

McKinley Sunrise
welcome to a sunrise over Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in the western hemisphere. this part of Alaska was just finishing it's season of 24-hour days of sunlight, so that the sun was starting it's process of long and slow sunsets immediately followed by long and slow sunrises. it all takes place around 1am to 3am and it's the place to be if you want your sunset to last longer than a few moments.

Blown
clouds blowing over Lake Titicaca (the highest lake in the world) in southern Perú

Sunset Reflection
Once again, I was on my way back to my hotel after a beautiful day of shooting natures fine work. In my rearview mirror, I saw some very dramatic clouds and light working their way into a masterpiece. I pulled over, grabbed some gear and hiked off the roadside a bit to find a clearing other than the highway. It was a woodsy area and to my luck, I quickly come across a large pond. Not only did it offer me a great view of the sky, but it supplemented it with some lovely reflections. I waited for the sun to just barely hide behind the next set of passing clouds and then I got to work. A few streams of light burst out only to add to this gorgeous moment in time. Much like when we were kids and laid back to see things in the clouds, these two predominant clouds remind me of moose antlers. Virtually no one else saw my unique point of view, so I refrained from publicly titling this scene "Moose Ears".

Evening
This image has an interesting story. It started when I was traveling through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and got a tip about a couple-hour trail leading to a wonderful overlook. After discovering that the overlook faced west and I could get there in time for sunset, I decided to take the last-minute advice and head out for one more shot. The trailhead was reasonably easy to find, as there was a gravel area along the side of the road for a couple cars to park. Grabbing my gear, I started out with a quick pace to reach the overlook in time. In the first few minutes, I noticed that the trail was very poorly marked and the ground had almost no wear marks to follow. I had great difficulty tracking the spacious and distant markers as the trail wound through the woodsy hills. With an occasional backtrack to find a missed trail marker, I arrived just barely in time for a fantastic sunset. Everything was almost surreal, with fantasy-like colours, and I had only a moment to absorb the beauty and capture a few frames of film. At the same time, I noticed a section of red granite that was illuminated by a beam of sunlight giving the rocks a beautiful and strange glow. I like to collect rocks from places I've been, so this seemed to be a great opportunity. I found a football-sized chunk and pulled it from the side of the mountain, packed up my equipment and started to head back. In just a few minutes, the sun went down and it got quite dark. I had thought the trail difficult to find in the day; now it was impossible. The night sky was overcast, so I had no direction reference with the stars and the thick woods seemed to absorb any available light. I quickly became lost and was uncertain to even what direction the car was parked. Large things seemed to be moving about, sticks breaking nearby, things flying above; I could only guess what was nearby as I could barely see the trees next to me. As I hiked up and down steep foothills, the camera gear continued to get heavier and my oversized souvenir rock almost got left behind on countless occasions. Really wished I had brought water (and not the rock) and continually debated on spending the night where I stood. I talked myself into continuing on as it was getting cold. I had no jacket since I wasn't planning on being out this late, and those seemingly large creatures all around just might be hungry. It's after midnight now, and my luck has changed. I see a fallen tree that I remember seeing before. I take a moment to carefully orient myself and figure out that the car is only a few miles away.

In the Clouds 3

Cloudscape 2
Wyoming

Sunset Clouds
from the beautiful and tropical Wailea, Maui

Sunset on the Beach
This beautiful sunset brought a wonderful end to a long day. I was returning from a day long shoot at a local club. Everything that could have gone wrong that day, did, and then some. It was blistering hot and I was well sun burnt. That evening, on the way back to the Studio, I decided to stop by the beach to relieve the day's tension. I often take my camera out for a walk and this was as good time as any. Barefoot in the sand, I stroll up the shore trying to forget my day. I came across a rather nice sand castle that some kids built. Stooping down trying to see what kind of silhouette shot I could get with the sun setting behind it, I squeezed off a few shots for fun. I had noticed that at certain angles, the water reflected the blues and purples in the sky and the sand castle suddenly became much less interesting. The colours were so rich I immediately took some light readings and captured the waves while the colour was at its prime.


Swirls
Swirling cirrus clouds over the Rocky Mountains.

Clouds 1
puffy clouds gently passing on a summer day

Day's End
top of MarcaHuasi in Perú

Gulf Clouds
aerial view of clouds forming over Gulf of Mexico

Fantasy Sunset 1
sunset above the clouds near the hawaiian islands

Ocean Sunset
Sunset over ocean at Wailea, Maui

Fantasy Sunset 2
sun setting above the clouds near hawaii

Elevated Evening
coming down off the mountain just in time to witness the sun setting and the nearby cloud-line lighting up in pink.

Mount Haleakala
I'm standing at the top of Mount Haleakala in Maui as the sun is rising above the clouds. Although I'm in the tropics, it is below freezing here at two miles up and I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked. My day started at 1:30am to initiate the drive up the mountain in time for this event, and wasn't about to leave due to cold air. I got a good location scouted out and quickly set up my gear with some jumping jacks in between to keep the blood flowing. The sun seemed to be extra slow this morning (it must have been cold, also) and in time, I got the shakes from loss of body temperature. Fortunately, the event finally started in all its beauty and the cable release removed all my thermal tremors from the image.

Mystery Peak
I was camping out on one of the lower peaks (about 8500 feet) in the Andes Mountains. It was a wet and somewhat tropical area and had a light rain most of the night. As daylight started making itself known, the remaining rain clouds started dissipating and swirling about the neighboring peaks. Once again, I grabbed my camera gear and prepared for a moody shot. The sunlight was peaking out here and there, clouds blowing by and changing each second, I just had to wait for everything to come into balance and squeeze the shutter's release cable. The dark neighboring mountain peak intertwined with scattering clouds created a mysterious and suspenseful image, expressing the drama in the air this morning.

Canyon Set
eastern Utah just after sunset

Rainbow's End
One warm and misty afternoon, the sun peaked out for just a moment to generate one of nature's most spectacular events... a rainbow. With the exception of this beam of sunlight, the surrounding area was dim and wet. I immediately pulled off the road and started setting up to capture this colourful phenomenon touching down into a nearby field. By the time I was prepared, the intensity picked up and I captured the entire essence on film. The air was still very misty, but the vibrant bands of colour showed through quite well and really shows off a natural work of art.

Bandon Beach
we scouted for days along the Oregon coast, looking for the right balance of rock mounds in combination with the right moment of setting sun light.

Stripe of Clouds

Morning Sun
early morning on Kauai

Fantasy Sunset 3
sunset above the clouds near hawaiian islands

Bay Colours
sunset over the many islands in northwestern Washington

China Moon
Full moon rising above the clouds over the China Sea

In the Clouds 2

Sun & Storm
Multiple storms and patches of sunlight just off-shore of Guam.

Banyan Sunset 2
sun setting over Horseshoe Lake (Illinois) surrounded by Banyan trees

Good Morning
sunrise in KaPa'a

Cloudscape 1
One of the great things about the dry western air of Wyoming is that when it does get some humidity, it can really generate a beautiful set of clouds. This assortment of cloud shapes is set apart at distinct different altitudes, giving each layer a unique colour as it reacts from the setting sun. Throw in a silhouetted row of trees in the foreground and a glimpse of a distant mountain range, and you have a serene place for your mind to wander about.

Ka'anapali Sunset 1
Ka'anapali Beach is famous for it's gentle shallow waters and beautiful ocean sunsets like this one.

Cloud Corner