"Sunset"...By Langston Hughes

 Last night, I found myself in our backyard looking skyward. I took a picture of the sunset. Humanity has expressed their thoughts and feelings about sunsets for as long as there have been humans to see them. Below is one man's thoughts.

"Sunset"

O, great god Sun-

Wrap me in your golden hues-

As the day fades, our souls unite-

In your fiery embrace, we find solace.

Langston Hughes

Loving These Autumn Skies...

 Over the past couple of days, we've had a front-row seat to some of the most beautiful skies. Even tonight when I took out the dog, the southern skies were incredible. 

I count myself very lucky.

I've captured sunrises that fill the sky, and sunset as well. Plus, one day the clouds in the west looked like they were found in the opening credits of The Simpsons, or, like the clouds from Toy Story.

Another time I captured a huge cloud to the north, enormous while puffiness filling the northern horizon. I couldn't help but snap a picture.

I've stated it many times, one of the things I knew I would miss about our little house on the hill where we used to live were the incredible sunsets we saw almost every night. Our vantage point allowed us to see sunsets over Antelope Island and Farmington Bay (back when it held water...). I have been overwhelmingly surprised at the views we get from where we now live. The entire sky--in each direction--opens up and fills the space. It's wonderful.

I know me. I know that I will continue taking photographs of skies that blow me away. And because I know me, I know I'm going to continue to share many of them with all of you.

Just like today.

The Sunset Last Night Was...Breathtaking

Yesterday, I walked outside into a cold January evening and snapped a few pictures of the sky. I then returned outside a minute later as the sky above became alive with color. With sunsets, you never know what you're going to get...will the first tinges be all there is, or will it develop, grow, mature into something that takes your breath away?

Yesterday, it was the latter.

Last night I kept leaving the house to get more pictures as the colors deepened. Of course, you never know how they'll translate to a digital image until they're downloaded and manipulated (at least, a little...).

It's been a crap week for my family. We had planned to meet up, the three families and have Sunday dinner the day after New Years Day. We were to meet at my sisters. That dinner never took place, unfortunately. We did gather today, for an entirely different reason.

For the past almost fifty years, I watched the sunset from the end of a cul-de-sac. The hill and Farmington Bay provided the most amazing vantage point to see the brilliant colors. Where we now live, it's different. The entire sky seems to open up, and the sunsets encompass us. They surround us. I used to think where we lived before that the sunsets could not get any better. I no longer think that. I'm a convert to what's possible.

Last night was a gift. It was as if the sky knew things. It teased with some light colors on the eastern mountains which drew me outside, made me forget for a moment the week we'd had. Then, it rewarded me with more perspectives, more colors, more...hope. No, the day did not turn out how we planned, but what I saw in the sky was breathtaking.

Tonight's Wild Sky...

Tonight I opened the back door to our deck. It smelled like rain. It's a smell we haven't had for a long time. We could see filtering clouds descending, but we felt no rain...maybe it's too warm for the rain to reach the ground.

I hope that changes.

But, rain or no rain, the sky opened up and went wild.

I tried capturing what I saw as best I could, but it's a poor representation at best.

Such is life.

The past month, we've had some amazing sunsets, mostly due to wild fires burning in the west. Still, I believe clouds help to make the best sunsets. Tonight, we had them.

I'm just going to post what I took and include a video, or maybe two (you might catch some thunder and lightning in the videos, too...). It's something we haven't seen in a while--thought I'd share.

Sunset...Sunrise

Yesterday, I had the rare (as of late...) opportunity to see beautiful skies not only in the evening, but also in the morning.

The skies were incredible--my little phone camera can barely do it justice.

Back when I commuted to and from work, there as a time during the year when I'd see sunrises when I either climbed into my car or while I was driving to work or was on the bus. Then, another colorful sky met me as I journeyed home. Ever since I began working from home, I've missed almost every cool sunrise. I'm sad about that, but not enough to return working in an office.

I snapped another picture as well, one of the house with an incredible sunset behind. I've taken maybe hundreds of photos of our house over the years. It's something I never tire of doing (even though many may be tired of seeing it...).

I got lucky yesterday to see the sky as it rose and as it set. It's something I don't get to see very often nowadays.

Utah's Autumn Skies...

Since I work from home, I've been able to see the sunsets before they disappear instead of appreciating them from a bus or train and being unable to photograph them. 

And I do love a good Utah autumn sunset.

Over the past few weeks I've taken a lot of pictures of the western skies. Of course, some are better than others, but each time I aimed my phone or Nikon westward, I saw something beautiful in front of me. I did my best to capture what I saw. Hopefully, these pictures gives you an idea of just what the western skies this November.

Catching The Sun...

About a week or so ago I stood on my back porch and snapped a few pictures. Due to the location of the sun, and other factors, I watched as it slowly set in the western sky. I got out the good camera with a zoom lens and caught some of the beauty blazing before me.

It turned out pretty good.

I took several shots. If the porch had been higher, or the trees lower (darn trees keep growing taller and taller...), I could have taken even better shots. But I'm okay with that I got. Each day the sun sets a little more south. It will soon disappear behind Antelope Island until finally, on the shortest day of the year, it will set almost off the island entirely.

Sunsets fascinate me. They're like the biggest work of art on the largest canvas we'll most likely ever see. Some nights are not as brilliant as others, but every inch of land, every drop in the ocean will get the chance to witness a sunset every night. It's a gift, something telling us the day is done so lay down your shovel and rest to prepare for the next day.

I've missed a lot of sunsets, but I try and take pictures of as many of the good ones as I can. I think on my cloud and computer backups I've got more pictures of the sun setting than any other thing.

And I'll be fine for it to stay that way, if I can see pictures like this in my viewer.

A Sky Of Fire...And Dragonflies

Owl City sings about ten million fireflies and ten thousand lightning bugs, but last night I saw a whole bunch of dragonflies. I don't think anyone's written a song about them. I'm probably wrong.

I've posted many pictures of sunsets. If we can fight back the quaking aspens growing to the west, we'll be able to see more, and hopefully post more photos. But last night as I headed to the back porch, the sunset--though amazing--wasn't what caught my attention. It was all those dragonflies.

I brought out my good camera to see if I could capture the experience. Even though I was please with the pictures and the videos, it didn't quite compare. All I could see were all those bugs flying around and eating mosquitoes. The fact that the sky behind them was awash is brilliant oranges, reds, and blues was an added bonus.

I pulled out the iPhone and tried out the slo-mo video option.

That's when I captured magic.

The problem is, the video resolution is not good enough to see the detail.

So, I put the whole thing on YouTube. If you want to see it, just click: HERE.

Even though you can't see what I saw, I wanted to give you a little taste. I hope you click on it and enjoy it. I know I did.

May...In Pictures

I've had people come up to me at church, at work, or other places, and complimented me on photos I've posted online. That happens when you post a daily picture for over six years. Of course, not all the daily pictures are what even I consider "good." Some are just for fun, some are so I can remember a specific moment in time.

I do, however, try and get the best possible shot, no matter what the subject. This month there were a couple of pictures that even I thought were pretty good (my favorite shot of the month is the very last one, the dancers...). That's the thing about art and creativity. When something's good, you more than know it, you feel it. I liked these shots. And who knows--I might even capture a couple more...the month's not over yet.

Capturing The Fire On The Mountain...

"Look at that!" my daughter said as we pulled into the parking lot of a local grocery store. Of course I saw it--it was spectacular. Above us the sky blazed in orange and red and the mountains caught the colors as they reflected off the sky. "It's beautiful," she said. And it was.

Because it was so amazing, I wondered if I could capture the scene in a picture. I pulled out my phone and tried.

Some would say I was successful. When I looked at the pictures when I got home, one shot came close, one was way off--that picture's the one below. I wish I could have found a more advantageous vantage point to take a picture, but with photography, as with life, you have to make due with what you're given.

I must say, when it comes to taking pictures of sunsets, I've been spoiled. Except in the winter when there's less sunlight, I'm usually at home when the sun sets in the west. Most nights I'll go to our back porch and see what we've been given. With sunsets, as with life, you make due with what you're given.

Point is, I usually havec a vantage point to get a good picture when the sunset is photo-worthy. When I saw the sky explode above us at the grocery store, I was where I was. And even though the finished product wasn't what I would have wanted, I'll always have the picture to remind me of the night my daughter and I saw the fire on the mountain. And, after all, isn't that what a picture is for anyway?

Some Sunset Pictures For Stephanie...

 

 I saw the beginnings of tonight's sunset from the train window. You never know how it's going to turn out, but I thought it had the makings of a good one. Of course, I had to get to a spot where I had a good view to try and get a good picture or two. As luck would have it, it was still around when I pulled the car into the driveway and it even got more spectacular as I took picture after picture.

I noticed a friend's Facebook post after I came in. She posted a shot she took and complained that the camera on her phone couldn't quite capture what she saw. I thought, "that's tonight's blog post," to post picture I took for her, so Stephanie, here you go!