Sunrise/Sunset/Sky

Snow Storm

The ‘huge’ snow storm that was forecast for the east coast really didn’t live up to its potential. Predicting these things isn’t easy and a few degrees of temperature can make all the difference. As it turned out, it was a few degrees warmer throughout the region and what was supposed to be 4 to 7 inches barely made it past 2. Further north, where they were expecting as much as two feet didn’t get more than a half a foot, I believe. This photo makes the storm look a lot more serious than it was. This is from our kitchen window, looking up into the trees in our neighbor’s yard, using a telephoto lens. Also, it didn’t snow this hard for very long. All in all, not really much to write home about.

Sunrise

We actually had both a beautiful sunrise and a beautiful sunset today. The sunset was prettier than the sunrise but I was driving during the sunset and getting a picture was a bit difficult. I did take two while stopped in traffic on 270 but then traffic started moving again so I let it go and just enjoyed it. The sunrise was while I was home and it was a simple matter of walking out front to take a few pictures from the driveway. It wasn’t as colorful as some we’ve had but it was still pretty.

Sunset (and Venus)

We got a proper, colorful sunset this evening and I enjoyed watching it come on. Every now and then, as dusk was approaching, an airplane would fly across the sky and when it got to the right point, it would reflect the light of the setting sun and turn into a bright star for a few seconds. After a while I noticed one that seemed to be standing still. At first I thought it was just very far away and therefore seemed to move more slowly but it didn’t take long to realize that it wasn’t moving at all. Turns out it was Venus, appearing about twenty minutes before sunset (which was at 5:47). This picture was taken about fifteen minutes after that. If you cannot see Venus in the picture, you may need to view it on a larger screen, or zoom in. It’s right about in the center from left to right, about 1/6 the way down from the top edge of the photo, at the upper edge of the clouds. (Of course, all it is is a tiny, white speck.)

Sunset

Well, it looked as though I’d finally get the sunset I’ve been looking for the last few days. Each day the clouds seemed perfect for something spectacular as the sun approached the western horizon. Each day the sun would go down without any particular light on the clouds. Today seemed the best opportunity of all. Although they covered most of the sky, the clouds were more scattered and I had a real feeling that this time they’d get the setting sun’s final light. They did, too. The only problem was that the 20 minutes or so leading up to the sunset saw all the clouds move off to the south east. The only clouds left in the western sky where low, just over the horizon. Looking through the trees between the houses behind ours I got a small but of colored clouds. That will have to do.

Clouds at Dusk

I was hoping for a spectacular sunset this evening. As the sun sank in the west, the clouds seemed just about right for something with a lot of color, covering the entire western sky with orange. As it turned out, we didn’t get anything very bright. In fact, it just got dark. Not to say that a daily sunset isn’t something for which to be thankful. We’re so used to the daily cycle we take it for granted, but it’s still a gift and it’s beautiful in its own way without the bright color we sometimes get. So, I like this picture, even though it isn’t what I was hoping to have.

Dramatic Afternoon Clouds

The clouds were quite beautiful this afternoon. There was no colorful sunset to speak of but before that, they were rushing across the sky in a very impressive display. I really like clouds and could sit outside or (when it’s a bit warmer) lie on the grass and just watch them for hours. It’s cool out now. Not cold as it probably should be, but cool, so I didn’t stay out a terribly long time. Also, I was barefoot. But I enjoyed the changing patterns and the contrast between the clouds with the sun shining on them and those that were in shadow, both set against the brilliant blue sky.

Fair Skies

The forecast called for snow today. Not a blizzard but over the last few days the forecast varied from as much as 6 to 10 to as little as 3 inches. Well, we didn’t really come close to that. This morning when I got up, Accuweather was saying we’d get 0.2 inches between 9:00 and 10:00 and that was about it. As it turned out, it did snow but it certainly didn’t snow very much and there was never any on the ground. In the afternoon, this is what the sky to the east looked like. Not exactly menacing. It was fairly breezy and it got down into the low 30s (Fahrenheit) but as a winter storm it was definitely pretty weak.

Sunset

The sun is setting later and later now. Not long ago it was going down as I left work at 5:00 PM. Not it’s after 5:30. I’m not complaining (far from it). It means I have a little time after work to get some pictures while it’s still light. Of course today is Saturday so I have more time. I took a few pictures this morning in my mother-in-law’s yard but they aren’t anything worth posting (not that I haven’t posted plenty of such). The sunset wasn’t a full-sky affair this evening but still quite beautiful. This was taken out our back door, looking over the house behind us.

Ginger Snaps

The Christmas break has been over for a while and I’ve been back at work since January 3rd. Nevertheless, the Christmas season continued until today. There were two things that signaled the end of the season. The first (and admittedly more important) is that Dorothy went back to school. Actually, she left last night and drove to Pennsylvania where she stayed with a friend. They went the rest of the way to school today. The second signal that Christmas is really gone is that the last of the ginger snaps have been eaten. These are the final two. They were as good as always but now they’re gone.

Sunrise

I’m on vacation this week. Staycation, actually. Not going anywhere, just taking off work. It’s become something of a tradition for me. With Dorothy home from school, it’s extra special. So, I don’t have to get up early to go to work. But I woke up early anyway. I managed to get back to sleep at 5:30 and again at 6:15 but the third time I woke up I decided to get up. I’m glad I did because just before 7:30 the sky lit up with a beautiful orange glow. It was raining very lightly but the clouds were thin enough that the sun was having a wonderful effect on them. This is what it looked like outside my front door this morning.

Sunset

Yesterday I got a sunrise photo at about 7:15 AM. Today, we see a sunset at 4:45 PM. These are about the extremes for our latitude, yesterday and today being about the shortest days of the year. As of now, the sunrise will get earlier and the sunset later. I was coming home the round about way today, having had an errand in Olney, so I stopped at the commuter parking lot at the ICC and went to the top of the hill to get this picture of the sun setting behind the trees in the distance.

Sunrise With Moon

At a little after 7:00 this morning I noticed that the color of the morning light was on the orange/pink side and I grabbed my camera and went out front to take a few pictures. This is the best time of year for sunrise photographs, not least because the sunrise is about as late as it gets so I’m more liable to be up and about. On the other hand, I generally have very little time to get the color so I grab my camera and run out without bothering with shoes, which I rarely wear when I’m inside. It’s not as cold as it was last week, fortunately, or that might have been painful.

I got a few pictures of the lower, eastern sky, where the most color was (and it was fading fast). I turned and took this one to the southeast, where the crescent moon was floating among the colored clouds. In some ways it isn’t as good a picture as the others but I thought the moon makes it unusual enough to warrant it’s appearance here.

Iridescent Cloud

Where clouds are made up of especially tiny ice crystals or water droplets, they can cause light to be diffracted, creating this rainbow-like effect in the clouds. I saw one to the left of the sun as I was driving up interstate 95 from the capital beltway and then when I got onto Maryland 200 (the Inter-county Connector) I saw this on to the right of the sun. I was able to pull over and take a couple pictures of it before it faded away. I love clouds and take pictures of them fairly often but don’t figure most people will be as interested as I am, so only post them here when they are involved in sunsets or particularly unusual (like the Fallstreak hole I photographed in November, 2013). This isn’t nearly as rare as that, but I still like it when I see it.

Sunset

At the request of a few of my fans (I know you’re out there, I can hear you breathing) I’m trying to balance the insect pictures with sunset pictures. Actually, I pretty much take the sunsets when I can, but it’s not something you can just go out and find. They happen or they don’t (well, they happen every day but they aren’t always worth photographing). Today as I was heading into Rockville in the evening the sky was quite beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t have a good place to stop until I got to St. Mary’s Church at the corner of Veirs Mill and Rockville Pike. That’s where this was taken.

Evening Clouds

When I got home I went out back and took a few pictures of the clouds over our neighborhood. This is the sort of sky you’ll see in a painting and think, the sky never actually looks like that. Well, it does. I had every expectation that about an hour on there would be a very dramatic sunset and I left the camera by the back door so I could go out and get pictures. The fact that you are seeing this non-sunset picture has probably clued you in that it didn’t happen. In fact, an hour later when the sun was setting and I looked out at the darkening sky, there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. So, this is it, then.

Sunset

Just a few days ago my mom, her friend, Donna, and I were talking. Donna said that while she appreciated the photos I’ve been posting lately, would it be too much trouble to post more sunset pictures. The insects and spiders were starting to give her the willies (I’m not quoting her, but that was the general feeling of her comments). Well, here you are, Donna. I was happy to have this sunset given to me less than a week after our conversation and I’m also happy to share it with all of you. We will now return to our standard, creepy-crawly photographs tomorrow.

Sunset Over The Pool

We don’t have a membership at our local swimming pool and this isn’t the pool in our neighborhood, in any case. Our church is moving to a new location and some friends who happen to live in the area of that new site decided to have a party at their pool and invite their friends and neighbors. Because they wanted to spend the evening visiting with their guests, they asked me if I’d cook for them and I was happy to do so. I still got to visit some, once the bulk of the cooking was done, and of course I took a few pictures.

In addition to this one of the sunset colored sky, reflecting in the pool, I got quite a few of kids blowing bubbles and also playing with glowsticks. It was a very pleasant evening, not too hot and not terribly humid. In fact, a perfect fall evening. Of course, we’ll have a return of summer next week but hopefully it won’t be too long before we get into autumnal mode, weather-wise.

Thanks to Tammy, Joe, Joan, Victor, and Sally for putting on a nice evening and thanks also for letting me be there, even though I live in a different part of town.

Clouds and Sun

I was driving into Rockville today and had a little time to spare. I decided to go to the First Baptist cemetery at the corner of W. Jefferson Street and Great Falls Road. On the way there I was sitting at a light and saw these clouds. I had plenty of time (it’s a long red) and I grabbed my camera and got three nice pictures before I had to put the camera down and start driving again. I also got some nice pictures of the cemetery but I decided I like this one better.

Sunset

I went out to take some insect pictures this evening but it was a bit dark to get anything worth much. I got a bunch of pictures of leaf hoppers but none of them were sharp and all were a bit of a disappointment. I was sort of resigned to post a picture that was only half way decent of a skipper.

It wasn’t a long time later that the sun began to set and I realize I’d have the opportunity to take some other pictures and save you all (both of you) from that. So, here’s a sunset, instead of the skipper.

Lightning

I know this isn’t a really great picture of lightning but hey, it’s a picture of lightning. This storm came through the evening of the 15th and Dorothy and I stood out, first on the front porch and then out back under an overhang. Later we moved into the garage and looked out the open door. I took quite a few pictures trying to capture a bolt of lightning and this is the only one I got. A much easier way to capture lightning, of course, is to take video and then pull out the frame that captures it. But I wanted to do it with a standard shot. This was a 1/3 second exposure at f/8 and there it is. Lightning.

Cloud Shadows

I think clouds are cool, especially when dramatically lit. This evening that’s what they were. They were also casting shadows. They often do, of course, when they are in a mostly clear sky, but this evening was different. Instead of casting shadows on the ground, as they normally do, the sun was low enough in the sky that they were casting shadows horizontally on each other. The clouds in this picture are not as dramatic as some I photographed this evening but I love the horizontal band of darker sky, which is the shadow of the cloud on the left. The atmospheric haze caught the light and made the ‘beam’ of the shadow show up.

Dusk, Ocean Isle Beach

This isn’t quite a sunset picture, although the sun setting contributed to it. It’s more a picture of clouds as dusk drew on. Cathy and I were out on the beach for about fourty-five minutes starting about 7:45 and the clouds were really quite spectacular, even if I wasn’t able to capture them completely. The sky was as deep a blue as you’ll ever see it and the clouds on the right were quite dark. The white cloud at the top was growing quite rapidly and I thought we might get a big storm. A nice way to end a nice day at the beach. Cathy stayed out a little longer to check on the progress of a turtle next a little way up the beach.

Dramatic Sky, Alligator Pond

I don’t know what, if anything, this pond is actually named but we call it Alligator Pond because we have seen alligators there in past years. This year we didn’t see any and didn’t see any of the water birds we’ve often seen, either. But the sky was fairly dramatic, so I took a picture of that instead. I think it made the short drive worth the effort. We stopped for Italian Ice on the way, too, which would have been enough on its own. But a nice picture is worth something in addition.

Cloud

I was in south Rockville this evening, meeting the guys at Matchbox for dinner. I got there a little early and of course I had my camera with me. The sky was a really amazing blue and there were fluffy white clouds moving across it. Rather than take a picture of just a cloud, I decided to include a light post in the picture, hopefully breaking up the monotony at least a little. Still, it’s just a cloud on a beautiful blue sky. The pizza at Matchbox it killer, by the way, and paired with a vanilla porter, it was a wonderful meal.

Sunset, St. Mary’s Parish Church

I was on my way home this evening and the sun was setting in a fairly spectacular fashion. I pulled into the circle in front of St. Mary’s Parish Church to take a few pictures. This was the original St. Mary’s church in Rockville, founded in 1813. There were plans to tear down the old church when the new church building was planned in the 1960s. Fortunately, I think, it was preserved and is now known as the Chapel of Our Lady. The parish cemetery, seen here under the trees, is the final resting place for F. Scott and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (as well as many others, of course).

Sunset

We had a bit of rain today. When I got to work, the person with whom I rode up in the elevator said the forecast was for storms between 2:00 and 10:00 p.m. but I didn’t realize it was going to be as severe as it was. It really rained. I have a window office so I often don’t turn on my overhead lights, much preferring the natural light (even though my office faces north and I don’t get direct sun) to awful fluorescent light. It got so dark I needed to turn on a lamp. It wasn’t raining when I drove home but rained hard again after I got there. I hadn’t taken any pictures so I went out front and took some of the rain. They turned out alright but as it happens, I decided not to post them after all.

Sunset

I went to dinner with four other guys, eating and having a brew at Dogfish Head in Gaithersburg. When we left it was about 8:45 and the sun was low in the sky, the clouds had cleared overhead, and the western sky was absolutely beautiful. I took a few pictures through powerlines from along West Diamond Avenue and then drove up to the small shopping center on the southwest corner of Clopper and Quince Orchard Roads. From there I had a less obstructed view of the sunset and that’s where I took these two pictures. Full disclosure, I edited out some light posts that I think detracted from the view.