Signs of the Season

While eating dinner this evening I noticed a grackle singing from the top of an oak tree, my first grackle for the season.  Deciding to take a short sundown stroll after the dishes were done I checked our flowerbeds and found the daffodils just beginning to poke their heads above the soil. 

As my wife and I strolled along we noticed two robins hunting worms along side of our garden, another first for the year.  The sunset this evening was one certainly worth savoring.

The honking of migrating Canada Geese drew our attention to the western sky.  The dark silhouettes moving rapidly across the colorful evening sky vividly tells the story of the changing of the seasons.  

   

Sundown

With a storm moving in, the spotlight effect of the setting sun painted the country side in a beautiful warm glow.

The first major snow storm of the season is moving in from the south as I make this post. I hope it's a good one, I can use some new pics :)

SkyWatch: October Skies

This evening was one of those rare “perfect” autumn evenings. After being cooped up in the office and with rain in the forecast for the next two days a little foray with the camera seemed a fitting way to end day.

This is the view from my deck as the sun sank low into the western sky. Our fall foliage is reaching its zenith and the forecasted rain and wind will probably cause many of the bright leaves to cascade to the ground leaving in their wake the muted grays of winter.

The gorgeous sunset I was hoping for failed to materialize but my wife and I still enjoyed watching as the pastel colors of the sky slowly melded into darkness under a cresent moon.

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Corn Skies

Leaving our family farm to return home Sunday evening I could see from the secluded valley that a beautiful red glow was sweeping upward across the sky as the last remnants of daylight faded about one half hour past sunset.

Driving to the top of the hill I shot these images through the corn using the 400mm lens to isolate a small bit of the sky. Exposing for the sky allowed the corn stalks in the foreground to become stark silhouettes.

Evening skies such as these typically forecast fair weather and we have been blessed with beautiful clear days and low humidity ever since.

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Sky Watch & Dorothy continued….

After a late evening thundershower the sun broke through giving the day a glorious grand finale

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Dorothy continued……
Dorothy left today on the next leg of her adventure

First she selected just the right shipping box for her and her luggage

Crawling in she made herself right at home

The postmaster was all smiles as she took charge of sending Dorothy off to the UK!

Good bye Dorothy, imac will take good care of you!

If you aren’t familiar with Dorothy please refer to yesterday’s post.

SkyWatch: The Sunset of Winter

March; a month of change, winter’s icy grip loosens as the month passes ushering in the beginning of spring. As the sun sets on another winter the new life of another season is awaiting the warming rays of a new day to burst forth in splendor.

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SkyWatch: March Sunset

With the all of the gray skies we have been having this month gorgeous sunsets have been quite rare. The evening of March 10th didn’t become a top-notch sunset but it was pretty enough to share.

Now that daylight savings time has come I will have more opportunity to capture good sunsets instead of watching them fade during my evening commute.

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SkyWatch: Evening Rays

A passing frontal system creates dramatic beauty in the late afternoon sky

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SkyWatch: Shooting Backward

Eastern Sky at Sunset

A hot humid evening following a thunder shower produced the atmospheric conditions that made this image possible. Soon after the sunset the eastern sky acquired a beautiful muted glow combining blues and reds with many shades between the two extremes.

Don’t forget to check the eastern sky during a spectacular sunset, on occasion it will equal or surpass the main event.

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SkyWatch Friday: The Last Light of Day

The most brilliant colors of sunset occur some time after the sun has dropped below the horizon.

The image on my previous post was taken as the sun was beginning to touch the mountains to my west. This image was captured sixteen minutes later.

As you will notice the contrast and intensity of color has dramatically increased.



For a full explanation of this phenomenon and great information on how best to capitalize upon it visit Jim Moore at Transient Light Photography.

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The Last Rays of Sunlight

A beautiful glow lights a pastoral Pennsylvania landscape during the evening's golden hour

The showers that have been caressing our landscape daily are presenting us with some very dramatic skies. This evening I captured this scene only moments before the sun dipped below the horizon.

Following the sunset the western sky became quite beautiful as the last rays of daylight painted awesome colors upon the clouds, but that shot must wait until later.

SkyWatch Friday: Silent Thunder

As the sun set on a hot sultry June evening, Thunder Heads reared their tops above the mountains to the east. The distant storms were out of ear-shot but after the sun set lightening could be see flashing through the clouds.

Checking the weather map on weather.com revealed that these two small isolated showers were 60 to 70 miles away.

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SkyWatch Friday, Backlighting

Backlit Clouds provided a brilliant hued sunset for this Capture.

There are few things more appealing than a bright blue sky but it becomes much more beautiful when a few clouds combined with low angle sunlight paints a stunning image across the evening sky.

Note: this image was captured with my little Canon S2 IS point&shoot

Skywatch Friday, Valentine Sky

After the sun set and darkness began to envelop the countryside, the western sky took on a beautiful red hue. The perfect end for a cold Valentine’s Day!

Sky Watch Friday, Pastel Sunset

With a storm front moving in the evening sky displayed a beautiful palate of pastel colors

Two & Counting

Sunrise and Sunset, the most beautiful times of the day. With my work schedule of late I have not had the opportunity to greet the dawn. Last evening while suffering from shutter withdraw I grabbed my camera and hurried to the top of the hill just in time for this shot.

I suppose you all can tell that I am eagerly anticipating my upcoming break. Although my job has been stressful for the last few months I fully realize that job stress is not nearly as bad as the stress one goes through when our doctors deliver bad news to ourselves or a loved one.

I ask you all to keep our friend Faye in mind through her stressful time. Faye has been a great inspiration to me. Faye posts the most stunningly beautiful photographs of Oregon and frequently takes what must be a great deal of her valuable time to drop kind notes of encouragement on her cyber-friends blogs. Let us all keep her in our thoughts and prayers as she goes through this trying time. Please take the time to drop by and offer her a kind word of encouragement as she has done for so many others.

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Fire in the Mountains

Our sky is like unto a canvas with the painter continually expressing his moods. From bright sunny days to dull drab gray, from clear blue to fluffy white clouds to flaming as if one were looking into a celestial furnace.

On this particular evening the colors were particularly intense

A Beautiful Life

Each day I’ll do a golden deed
By helping those who are in need
My life on earth is but a span
And so I’ll do the best I can

Chorus:

Life's evening sun is sinking low

A few more days and I must go

To meet the deeds that I have done

Where there will be no setting sun

While going down life's weary road

I'll try to lift some traveler's load

I'll try to turn the night to day

Make flowers bloom along the way