I Lift Up Mine Eyes ...

It had been another one of those changing weather kind of days - alternating sun, gray skies, a threat of rain followed by more blue sky. Then after dinner the wind kicked up and storm clouds gathered. In no time rain was pelting against the north-facing windows. But as suddenly as the storm had come upon us, the wind blew it southward.

The sudden quiet made me glance out the window and I caught the remains of a double rainbow. I figured since I was outside with camera in hand I might as well also capture some of the summer blooms, freshened by the rain. I was absorbed in catching the raindrops hanging from petals and bees scurrying to gather nectar in the golden hour.

I finally lifted my eyes when I came around the west side of the house and was greeted by a sky in turmoil. Another storm further away had roiled the sky in the west while at the same time the sky in the northwest was trying hard to revert to blue. It made for an awesome sight ...

[Have a listen to an oldie goldie below while you relax here for a few minutes]

Somewhere ......

[some of you may be familiar with Eva Cassidy - if so, you undoubtedly are very familiar with the song below; if you aren't, you owe it to yourself to have a listen - I promise you won't regret it - click the link below the photos]

Today started off well enough, crisp but with sunshine. By early afternoon the weather had degenerated into a wind-whipped rainstorm. It had stopped by dinner time so we could take Sasha out for a walk (or maybe she takes us ?), although the sky still looked threatening. We made it back just before the low grey masses of clouds opened up again. But we could see some clearing on the western horizon.

Sure enough, as the clouds were being swept to the east, the sun peeked below the western edge of the clouds and shone through the rain, capping the day off with a magnificent rainbow. I wouldn't have traded this moment for a pot of gold.

Irene came calling

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)

(Day 222) Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Tuesday Aug. 10, 2010

Yesterday was a travel day so I thought I'd better make a few photos prior to our flights, just in case ... I had already picked one out to post. When we fly I'm usually the one in the window seat - I like to look out at the scenery and I always have my camera handy. We had some turbulence on the first segment and I could soon see why - we were passing close to some thunderstorms, which usually means interesting cloud formations (and you know I like those), and sometimes a rainbow.

Well, I saw my first rainbow from 35,000 feet, and I managed to get a few shots before it disappeared. Oh, and since I was shooting some cloud formations, I figured I'd post one of those too.

Both photos were made with a 60mm lens, aperture f8, ISO200; shutter speed 1/800 sec and 1/400 sec)

(Day 126) Almost heaven

We had another weird-weather day. The only thing we didn't get was snow. The forecast was for partly cloudy skies, but we started the day off with rain, then clearing with strong winds, then a brief but violent thunderstorm, followed by more clearing. Towards dinnertime it started raining again, but the sun was shining brilliantly. I ran to grab my camera to try and capture this phenomenon but when I got outside the rain had stopped, and instead there was a 'sign' from heaven that reminded me of a promise made long ago.

After dinner I walked over to our lilac 'woods' (there's at least an acre of them) to capture them before they're gone again. The air was heavy with their fragrance - surely heaven must smell like this!

(18-55mm  f8  1/1250 sec  ISO200)


looking out the front door

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/100 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f14  1/100 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/160 sec  ISO200)