Sunset and Sunrise at Staunton River State Park

Being on the field at the Staunton River Star Party was an opportunity to observe sunsets. It is a time when the telescopes being readied for the night – everything in place and ready to go. The first two nights there were almost no clouds at all and the sunset was boring. I took a silhouette picture of a telescope with some sunset color behind it.

The next night – the last one we were staying – was a little more interesting. There are pine trees on the horizon that look great in silhouette.

As it got darker, the activity on the field picked up. Everyone was watching the sky and hoping the clouds would dissipate. Evidently they did. The dew was the bigger challenge.

I only saw the sunrise on only one morning – the last one we were there. The mornings were cool (even cold) and the sleeping bag was comfy. I was glad I got up early enough on the last morning because the sunrise was spectacular. I took pictures as I walked down to the bathhouse/café to dress for the day and get hot tea. Five minutes or less…. the walk at sunrise started the day off right!

Sunset…and then Fireworks

The fireworks nearest to where we live were on July 9^th rather than the 4^th. We headed out to the parking lot where my husband works since we knew it would not be crowded…and we’d viewed the fireworks from there in 2014. Unlike 2014 – we left the house early enough to get a parking place that was next to the curb so that we could get our lawn chairs out and unfolded onto the sidewalk by our car. I was using my usual Canon Powershot SX710HS. I put it on my monopod/walking stick and continued to sit comfortably during the whole event. It was a very relaxed photo shoot and I enjoyed the fireworks too because I could look over the top of my camera while they were happening.

The sunset was colorful. I took a few pictures about 10 minutes apart while families with children played on the grassy area that will become the location of a new building by next year.

The fireworks stared about 9:15 – just as it got dark enough. The images I’m including in this post were selected for a variety of reasons: streak of exuberant color,

Burst within burst,

Simplicity,

Red orbs,

Lots of complex structure….it seemed like there were more sequences like this that previous years,

Another complex sequence…and a smaller one below the main starburst,

Wow – I wondered how the fireworks were made that delivered this,

And this one too.

My husband has a more expensive camera and I picked some from his collections as well. I like the colors and the crisper images he was able to capture.

Going to fireworks that are close to home meant that we were home by 10!

March Sunrise…and Sunset

The horizon around our house becomes blocked by trees after March – so this is probably one of the last sunrise/sunset posts from our home until late fall/winter rolls around again. Even in winter the bare tree branches are pretty thick between our front porch and the sunrise but the colors are good through their silhouettes.

The robins like our oak and generally seem to be facing the sunrise while they sing the morning awake.

The sunrise is visible from our back porch – and my office window. The trees are mostly tulip poplar – very tall. On the other side of the trees is a horse boarding area…so a relatively thin forest that still lets the color through as long as the trees are bare.

Somehow noting the colors at the beginning of the day – the clouds that add definition to the sky…is always worth a photograph.

Chincoteague Sunset…and Sunrise

Chincoteague was the only refuge on our 4 refuge trek that the weather was good for late and early day photography. We chose a place with water and pines for sunset and got there when the color was just starting in the sky and the reflections in the water were very clear.

I adjusted my camera to get the color and let all the vegetation be in silhouette just as the sun was at the tree tops.

And then it was in the trees.

Two Great Blue Herons flew to a snag behind us and waited there while the light faded still more.

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The next morning we were up an entering the refuge when it opened at 6 AM (this was before daily light savings time and the refuge was on winter hours). The sky was already rosy by the time we got to our spot – a little further along the road that we had used for sunset.

There were birds already busy in the water that took on the color of the sky.

A contrail was reflected in the water closer to us.

The light became more yellow and the geese continued their morning grooming and breakfast.

Then the color turned to orange. The sun was above the horizon.

February Sunset

I haven’t caught a good sunrise yet this month; the mornings seem to all be full of this clouds or so clear that then sunrise is uninteresting. But there was a colorful sent set last week. The back of my house faces west and the winter sunsets can be seen through the bare branches of the forest trees. I can catch the sunset from the deck but the view is better a story above the deck through my office window. That was my vantage point for these pictures (another advantage of the office is that I don’t have to bundle up against the February outdoor temperature!).

The color goes in opposite order to the sunrise ---- blazing oranges

Fading to pinks and then reds as the day fades into dusk.

Pretty soon the trees will begin to get leaves and the view from my house of sunrise and sunset will not be as spectacular. I have another month or so to catch the color.

Tucson Mountain Park Sunset

We managed to get to our favorite sunset location twice during our recent trip to Tucson: Gates Pass in Tucson Mountain Park. The first time we managed to get there just as the sun was going down – got the last parking spot with no time for set up. I still managed some reasonable pictures of the west horizon,

The light reflected off the mountain to the north east almost behind me, and

Then, as the sky darkened, some saguaro on a mountain in the foreground silhouetted by the fading color.

Five days later – the evening before we were flying home – we tried again. We got to the location early enough but the clouds were thick enough at the horizon that we didn’t see much at the time the sun was supposed to be setting.

Then the show started. The lower the sun got, the more the sky filled with color.

At first it was a haze of pink

Then the color intensified.

What a colorful crescendo to our last day in Tucson!