The Green Rays Photo

Photographer’s Note

A colorful sky over the South Seas; an image from Matira Point beach on the main islands of Bora Bora Lagoon.

There are some green rays in the sky.

*Scanned image*

Green flashes and green rays are rare optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, when a green spot is visible for a short period of time above the sun, or a green ray shoots up from the sunset point.
They could be observed from any altitude (even from the air). It is preferable to have an unobstructed view of the horizon, such as on the ocean, but it is not necessary. One could see a green flash as a cloud-top or a mountain-top too.

Its explanation lies in refraction of light (as in a prism) in the atmosphere and is enhanced by atmospheric inversions. Whilst we would expect to see a blue light, the blue is dispersed and only the green light remains visible.

With slight magnification a green rim on the top limb of the solar disk can be seen on most clear-day sunsets. However the flash or ray effects require a stronger layering of the atmosphere and a mirage which serves to magnify the green for a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds.

From Wikipedia

besnard, PixelTerror, gildasjan, niknik, papagolf21, fayeulle, jrj, mvdisco, feather, Silke, carper, luiscar, leo61, salvator, Cretense, Angelillo, jhm, Charo, France, josepmarin, lilimih33, Muse, belido, Henryk_Bilor has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pat0500 (21513) 2007-06-15 4:30

Hi Paolo,
Woaw.....another beautiful picture...!
Lovely great colours and wonderful reflection of the sun on water..!
Very good scanned image...
Best regards,
Have a nice day,
Patrick

besnard (31064) 2007-06-15 4:30

Bonjour Paolo
Elles sont incroyables et magnifiques ces couleurs dans le ciel. C'est magique et bien fait.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

Budapestman (42810) 2007-06-15 4:34

Hi Paolo,
Magnificent natural impression. Its so than a vision. Gorgeous colours and stunning lights. Great work. Have a nice weekend
George

deblink (2548) 2007-06-15 4:46

How wonderful are these colours Paolo. The image is really nice, especially considering it is a scanned one. Very pretty.
Cheers,
Debbie

niknik (112) 2007-06-15 4:51

Quite a stunning image with magnificent colours.
I heard about a phenomonem called St Elmos fire when in Hawaii. They said just on sunset a green flash of light appeared on the horizon.
Could this be what's in your photo?
Very spectacular!!

gildasjan (24133) 2007-06-15 5:01

Hello Paolo
A pretty sky on fire which is superbly photographed. Cheer and good day.
In a friendly way
Gildas

papagolf21 (56737) 2007-06-15 5:34

Bonjour, cher Paolo,
Vos photos sont toujours éclatantes et d'une grande beauté. Celle-ci, datant de l'an 2000, est un pur régal.
L'argentique n'a rien perdu de sa superbe.
Félicitations.
Amitiés.
Philippe

fayeulle (26547) 2007-06-15 5:37

Hi Paolo
Realy an amazing sunset ! I like the colors of the clouds. Green rays are not very visible on my screen but I like the colors
Cheers
JP

barrufeto_77 (25935) 2007-06-15 5:51

Hi Paolo.

An amazing picture! The rays behind the clouds are amazing!

My compliments!

Rgs, Oscar

jrj (34779) 2007-06-15 7:40

Interesting note and photo Paolo of a phenomene complete new for me. Seems you made a very good compo of the green in this photo. WEll disposed with the 2/2 to the clouded sky.

mvdisco (11613) 2007-06-15 8:15

Bonjour Pablo,
Superbes couleurs dans ce magnifique coucher de soleil, belle réflection du soleil dans l'eau, beautiful clouds and a very nice POV. excellent shot..
Ciao, bon weekend,
Michel

feather (50144) 2007-06-15 10:33

Another beauty from your extensive collection. I didn't know about the green light and imagined any green in the sky was just because the yellow light mixed with the blue sky. Eye-catching clouds and reflected light with a silhouette...Perfect.
Kath

Silke (3023) 2007-06-15 10:51

Truly stunning colours and outstanding composition! I am amazed to see such superb sharpness in a scanned image
TFS
silke
(and thanks for your kind visit to my "First of the Season")

carper (65646) 2007-06-15 12:06

a difficult one Paolo,
the backlight shot is not easy, I think you had some problems with sharpnes but even that I like the good job here, well done.
groet Jaap

leo61 (43734) 2007-06-16 2:24

Hi Paolo!
Great sunset shot from your huge archive.Wonderful blue and orange tones and good light at the clouds.The reflections look nice,too.
Regards,Leo

luiscar (3282) 2007-06-16 3:43

Hello Paolo, " spectacular putting of the sun "
seeing this image it seems that you get lost in the time, big games of colors of warm tones, high definition and good framing.
big work Paolo.
good weekend

salvator (18939) 2007-06-16 4:50

Ciao Paolo,
Superb image, superb composition. It could very well be from a calendar. The colors of the setting sun, the pov, the orangy colors in the clouds are absolutely wonderful.
I wish you an excellent weekend. Best personal regards. Ciao. Salvator.

Cretense (57010) 2007-06-16 7:04

Hi Paolo!

Almost all the colour palette is here, in this excellent sunset photo, my friend! Blue, green(?), orange! And a great composition!Congratulations!

Ciao, Hercules

Angelillo (9065) 2007-06-16 12:54

Wow, Paolo!

It's amazing the mix and gradiant of the colors. It's incredible how the blue sky becomes orange, and the infinite shades. The clouds are magnificent. Congratulations!

Regards,
Angel.

Cricri (43738) 2007-06-16 16:01

Ciao Paolo,
Instant magique de la lumiére du soleil qui ébloui et qui donne de merveilleux reflet sur l'eau, joli moment bien réaliser
have a nice weekend
cricri

Gerrit (36269) 2007-06-16 17:58

Hi Paolo,
you sure know to get the best out of these tropical sunsets. Great work,
regards, Gerrit

IgorDeleze (9247) 2007-06-17 8:17

HEllo Paolo,
Beautiful sunset with fabulous colors.
The clouds covered sky increase the beauty of that scenery.
Excellent shot.
Greetings.
Igor

jhm (83328) 2007-06-17 15:29

Hello Paolo,

How wonderful are these picture what a sunset, they said just on sunset a green flash of light appeared on the horizon. You chose a formidable moment.
Lovely great colours and wonderful reflection of the sun on water. TFS.

Have a nice day.
John.

PixelTerror (86839) 2007-06-17 17:14

Ciao Paolo,
A too centered image but back in 2000 you did not know TE... For the rest the colors are beautiful and the clouds add to the magical moment.
A presto dopo un piccolo giro in Italia :-)
Jean-Yves

Charo (31803) 2007-06-17 19:54

Hola Paolo,
Un ocaso con bellísimos colores y también bonitas reflexiones.
Excelente trabajo.
Cordialmente
Charo

France (149) 2007-06-18 8:05

Hi Paolo,
I often heard spoken about the green ray but never saw it with my own eyes. At the point to believe that it was just a legend. Thanks to your photo, I know now that really exists.
Your composition is great.
TFS,
France

josepmarin (34099) 2007-06-18 16:41

Ciao Paolo,
una luz y unos colores magníficos en esta toma, la imagen es muy relajante y atractiva, y los rayos del sol con este efecto de distintos tonos, en un fenómeno óptico muy bien explicado en tu nota, son espectaculares y dan mucha belleza a la composición.
Un paisaje muy bello de los Mares del Sur, en una gran foto, con un gran resultado de escaneado.
Un saludo,
Josep
PS: gracias por tu traducción de futbolín, ya he corregido mi nota.

lilimih33 (9874) 2007-06-18 19:03

Hello Paolo!
Amazing colours in your composition!
Fantastic sky!
Perfect image!
Nice perspective!
Excellent done!
Lili

Muse (31059) 2007-06-19 4:28

Hello Paolo,
Superbes couleurs et une très jolie lumière qui éclaire la mer et lui donne de très beaux reflets.
Excellent cadrage.
Best regards,
Denise

belido (16857) 2007-06-19 9:24

Hi Paolo,

great composition and interesting explanation. It's good to know someone still posts film shots. I like all tones from orange to the dark blue. Excellent work!
Ciau,
Carlos

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2007-06-22 2:48

Hi Paolo
Lovely capture with these colours. Good composition... but this is not green flash ;). It concerns the top of the Sun, not the colour of sky before or after sunset. I`ve seen such a phenomenon (like in your image) quite often, but green flash seldom and mostly not with a naked eye :).
So as you wrote - this is green ray, not flash ;).
Have a nice day.

eza1701 (3343) 2007-06-24 5:55

Hi Paolo,

Great photo, the thing that really appeals to me is the blend of warm and cool colours.

Best regards,
Paul.

Photo Information

Copyright: Paolo Motta (Paolo) (40755)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2000-08-00
Categories: Nature
Camera: Nikon N80
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Summer 2000 - Round the World, Your favorites II° [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-06-15 4:26