Based on weather forecasts we had seen over several days, hurricane Irene, which had already been downgraded to a tropical storm, was projected to barely brush our area with its western-most edge. Indeed we saw a pickup in wind speed yesterday afternoon and clouds scudded by and delivered some rain - all in all, however, nothing of consequence.
Around 7:45 pm my eyes were drawn to an eerie glow coming through the back windows. The entire western sky had turned orange with hardly any discernible clouds. I was making a few shots of this out the back door when my wife called me to come look out front. There was one of the most brilliant rainbows I'd seen in a long time, against an orange-hued backdrop. The rainbow lasted just long enough for me to make a few shots when the light started to fade, taking with it the rainbow. The glow in the sky to the west also diminished and it was now possible to see the cloud formations again.
I checked the time in the photo EXIF data - the entire episode had taken place in 10 minutes. We've been blessed with some lovely sunsets in our back yard before but I don't think they've been quite this vivid - I'm sure this was Irene's calling card.
[I was hoping to post this last night but our internet was slower than usual - if that's possible ! It's been taking a long time to load other blogs making visits a real chore, however, my letters to Xplornet's senior management have at least given me direct access to their level 3 techs. Hope reigns eternal.]
(18-55mm f9.0 1/30 sec ISO200)
(10-22mm f6.3 1/20 sec ISO200)
(10-22mm f8.0 1/10 sec ISO200)
Around 7:45 pm my eyes were drawn to an eerie glow coming through the back windows. The entire western sky had turned orange with hardly any discernible clouds. I was making a few shots of this out the back door when my wife called me to come look out front. There was one of the most brilliant rainbows I'd seen in a long time, against an orange-hued backdrop. The rainbow lasted just long enough for me to make a few shots when the light started to fade, taking with it the rainbow. The glow in the sky to the west also diminished and it was now possible to see the cloud formations again.
I checked the time in the photo EXIF data - the entire episode had taken place in 10 minutes. We've been blessed with some lovely sunsets in our back yard before but I don't think they've been quite this vivid - I'm sure this was Irene's calling card.
[I was hoping to post this last night but our internet was slower than usual - if that's possible ! It's been taking a long time to load other blogs making visits a real chore, however, my letters to Xplornet's senior management have at least given me direct access to their level 3 techs. Hope reigns eternal.]
(18-55mm f9.0 1/30 sec ISO200)
30 comments:
AMAZING! Glad that eerie color awoke you....what an incredible sky!
That is one amazing sky ... what a color!
Prachtige kleurige luchten Rick en de regenboog is echt helemaal geweldig.. Gelukkig dat Irene nou wel voorbij is.
GRoeten van Riet
Fantastic captures, Rick.
Irene produced magnificent surreal skies there..
and hopefully little else.
Amazing pictures, Irene can do something else then make trouble, she can bring beauty too.
you really amaze me ! fantastic shots! wonderful sky and clouds!!
we have to see that, because it's
hard to imagine such a beauty !
ah Vraiment Rick, le ciel est beautiful chez toi !
bises bises
OUR GOD REIGNS! This is truly awesome.
Wow! That second pic is breathtaking.
Wow, the skies are surreal. They're all amazing shots Rick. Have you ever submitted any of your shots as stock photos? If not, they're better than most I've seen and what do you have to lose?
My son suggested I do this with some of mine, I'm not ready to even think of going there yet.
Darn internet issues, I hope they get their butts in gear and resolve this for you sometime in the near future.
Flaming orange skies .. how truly spectacular. Your rainbow photo is like none I have ever seen before. Absolutely awesome skies Rick. I'm glad to hear the Irene left you alone and was so pleased to hear on the news that she was downgraded to a tropical storm. The footage that they were showing on the news from the space station was so intimidating, she was enormous in size. Anyway, I'm glad alls calm in your corner of the world Rick. Cheers Kath
Beauty after a disaster - you captured these wonderfully Rick.
Thankfully, everything went so well with you and yours, honey... thank God...
Wonderful shots, indeed! The second is outstanding! A blessed image... Splendid!
See you, honey!
Beijos doces and a warm friendship.
Love.
There is nothing quite as splendid as the setting evening sun! Even a storm has some beauty to it. Prayers and blessings to all who suffered loss and damage from Irene.
Great shots, Rick.
This photos are so beautiful!!
Wow Rick! Those photo's are absolutely stunning! So incredibly beautiful and so warm and deep. I really love them, especially the rainbow one!
Beautiful sunset and rainbow scenes! Thanks for sharing them.
Amazing. Seems the most beauitful sunsets I've ever seen have been when the storm passes over. Hope you have a good weekend.
i adore those sunsets!
simply impressive!
and the rainbow scene is truly amazing!
thanks for sharing this beauty.
Thank you, Dawn - it lit up the kitchen - I couldn't miss it !
Thanks, Susan - glad that I caught it.
Hallo Riet, en dank je wel. We zijn ook dankbaar dat het hier niet slecht is geworden.
Thanks, Laura - Irene just produced a little rain, a little wind, and lots of colour here !
Dank je wel, Marianne - 't is heel goed afgelopen bij ons.
Merci Marty (you're quite bilingual ;-) We were quite happy that Irene gave us a wonderful spectacle de lumière ! Je t'envoie des bisous doux ! Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks, Ruth - He does !
Thank you, Farmchick - right place, right time (thanks to my wife ;-)
Hadn't given it any thought, Darlene, but thank you for your nice comment. Irene gave us a much better show than had been forecast. [my internet slows to a crawl every evening - Xplornet suspects interference of some sort; I think it's load related; whatever, I have to try to visit blogs at other times than evening].
Thank you Katherine - the worst was suspected but thankfully Irene didn't deliver a knockout punch. We're hoping to survive the hurricane season unscathed. Hope your weekend is going well.
Thanks, Stewart - fortunately no disaster in our neck of the woods.
Obrigado teca - your visits and friendship are much appreciated. I hope your spring is arriving, bringing warmth and renewed life. A hug, and many beijos for your weekend !
Thank you, Randy - fortunately we weren't in the direct path of the wrath of Irene, and thankfully she quieted down somewhat.
Thank you very much, Soraia !
Thanks, Saz - I really lucked out getting the rainbow - it only lasted a few minutes before the light left us.
Thank you, Tim - just had to share that one !
Thank you, Laura - true about the weather as it is in life. Hope your weekend is a good one too !
Thanks so much, Betty. Nice to see you're back (loved your Greece photos !).
That rainbow is something else. Amazing. Sometimes one can't get to caught up in the sunset as sometimes their are colors going on behind you that you fail to see. Good thing your wife called you to the other door. Great shots.
ik zag je reactie op het blog van biebkriebels!
mooie fotos hier. zou je ze niet groter willen plaatsen? ze zijn veel te mooi om zo klein te posten... :)
These are gorgeous images Rick!
The colors are just breathtaking!
Hiya Rick,
it's been awhile since I've visited! It looks like I came over at the right time! Gosh, it's rare to see end-toend rainbows like that. Great capture. All in fleeting moments.
Thank you for changing my attitude. I hated Irene--blew down two huge trees on our property (gorgeous trees they were, too), and flooded our neighborhood (although we had no flood damage). It's always nice to see the other side of an argument...beautiful, just beautiful!
Thank you, Carrie. I always try to look all around me since sometimes there's better action behind than in front - everything transpired fairly quickly, but I did thank my wife.
Dank je wel, CaT ! I'm thinking of changing my blogger template to show larger photos, however, if you click on any of them you do get a larger version. My internet connection has had problems for a long time - the larger the photos are to upload, the longer (30 mins +) it takes.
Thank you very much, Lisa !
Hi Becky and thanks for dropping by. I guess in photography, timing is everything - I got lucky - AND I had my ultra-wide lens to capture it.
I think we just got lucky to see only the 'good' side of Irene. Sorry to hear about the loss of your trees, Jeanne.
Absolutely stunning images! Glad you saw her "good" side. We didn't see anything of her - but that was good too :)
Thank you, Kerri - we were glad we didn't get the forecasted winds and rain; good thing you didn't either.
Post a Comment