Aspen Sunrise Photo

Photographer’s Note

In an earlier posting, I joked about an 'ethyl-colored' sunset; however, I've noticed here in the high desert, away from any large urban areas, the colors at sunrise and sunset seem particularly colorful.
In trying to understand these observations, I found a discussion by Stephen Corfidi of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center says that typical pollution particles are too large to scatter light well. "As a result, hazy daytime skies, instead of being bright blue, appear grayish or even white. Similarly, the vibrant oranges and reds of "clean" sunsets give way to pale yellows and pinks when dust and haze fill the air...Clean air is, in fact, the main ingredient common to brightly colored sunrises and sunsets."

Because air circulation is more sluggish during the summer, and because the photochemical reactions which result in the formation of smog and haze proceed most rapidly in warmer air. This is why the brilliant sky colors are more common in late fall and winter.

To produce vivid sunset colors, a cloud must be high enough to intercept light which has not suffered color loss by passing through the boundary layer which contains most of the atmosphere's dust and haze. When low clouds do take on vivid hues, it is a clue that the lower atmosphere is very clean and therefore more transparent than usual.

Volcanos produce thin veils of dust at altitudes of 12-18 miles. About 15 minutes after sunset, these high-level clouds come into view. Since their colors achieve greatest intensity after the sun has set at the surface, volcanic twilights are known as "afterglows."

zmey, TopGeo, edytungkal, ribeiroantonio, parbo, avene, robertosalguero, ALIRIZA, MarianneS, stelli, scobert, meltemi, ktanska, jlbrthnn, pboehringer, John_F_Kennedy, turkamerikali, gunbud, xuaxo, delic, Davidwh, feather, bakes888, josepmarin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

TopGeo (21433) 2008-02-18 17:57

Hi Pat excellent shot!It is a picture that impresses with the composition and colours. I like this as explosion of some phenomenon..
Georgios

zmey (7242) 2008-02-18 17:58

hello pat

a beautiful, fiery sunset! i like the gradations of the orange, yellow and red against the blue sky-spots. interesting your note too. it has preoccupied my mind for some time now too. is it the pollution that produces the beautiful sunsets or not. i have heard both sides arguing for their point. hmm... :) definitely, it seems in connecticut and new york (near the city) the pollution side might have an edge. but i see, it's probably is not the cause where you made the shot.

well seen and presented, friend! TFS
kristaps

edytungkal (4517) 2008-02-18 18:00

Hi Pat,
Sunrise or sunset always my favourite and i like alot the red fire colour bathed the tree shadow on your picture. Maybe just suggest to crop out half of the dark shadow on fg, but its really not too bother. Its almost raining everyday in my city, i miss the smell both sunrise and sunset. Thanks for this shot..

daniel

ribeiroantonio (21749) 2008-02-18 18:10

The lit tree on the right looks a bit un-natural for a sunrise but at the same time fills in well the space, which would too dark if the flash had not worked. For me, it quite rare to see so reddish colours on a sunrise but I like to see what you captured. Well done.
Antonio

robertosalguero (2759) 2008-02-18 18:35

Hello Pat,

Your note is very interetng. I didn't know much about what make a sunset look beautiful. I guess that is the reasons the sky in the mountains is almost always clean blue...The image is awesome as the sky appear on fire. The faint shades of blue on the sky also reate a nice contrast. Good work and good to see you back here.

Roberto

avene (10888) 2008-02-18 19:22

hi Pat,
every sunset is unique, and I like a lot you version here, particularly the combination of saturate orange and pale blue and intricate silhouettes of the branches. is it a fill-flash on the tree to the right? whatever it is, I like it a lot, as Antonio says - it would be too dark without it. nice one :)
with best regards,
Kristine

ALIRIZA (16195) 2008-02-18 22:29

Hi Pat,
Good idea, very funtastic atmosphere with warm colours of the sky and dark silhouettes of trees. Well done my dear friend...
All the best...
Ali Rıza

mehmetemin (7217) 2008-02-18 22:53

Hi Pat
excellent sunset
Amazing view and colours!
It is perfect...!
Greetings
Mehmet Emin

MarianneS (14262) 2008-02-18 23:26

Hi Pat,
Glad to see you again !
Thank you for the interesting note accompanying this amazing sunrise, full of colours.
Regards,
Marianne

wolf38 (12525) 2008-02-19 3:38

Hello Pat. Sunset. A beautiful and photo worth seeing. Very tendencyful. Light and colors are excellent. Wonderfully. Best regards, Wolfgang.

parbo (10964) 2008-02-19 3:58

Hi Pat,

There is a real fire on sky. Excellent capture of sky in wide spectrum of colors with dark silhouettes at bottom. But you know already perfect sunset/sunrise tones are very attractive as usual same tones in your photos. Excellent works, congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

Gerrit (35493) 2008-02-19 5:07

Hi Pat,
Fine strong colouring and a good depth. The autumnal trees in reddish colours form a great silhouette.
REgards, Gerrit

stelli (2939) 2008-02-19 6:26

Excellent colors, POV and depth! Very good work! Thank you for sharing! Regards Stella

scobert (5333) 2008-02-19 20:34

Hello Pat,
I knew that meteorlogical elements had an important part in photography, but not this important. Like I have stated many times before, I learn something new everyday on Trek Earth. I have taken quite a few shots of our Colorado Aspens, but never a backlit sunset one. Your results are beautiful and most intriguing. I have never seen an aspen photo like you have captured here. It is as beautiful as it is creative. Good for you for not following conventional thinking and creating this very original landscape photograph. An outstanding and stunning image!
Stan

meltemi (9746) 2008-02-19 21:16

Hello Pat,
excellent capture of this sunset. The colours of the sunrise are gorgeous and the sharpness of the image make it very pleasant. Good inclusion of tree silhouettes to add dimension to the image. Your description about colours i the sky is interesting and add in the understanding of the scene. Brava.
Kind Regards.
Stella

ktanska (16414) 2008-02-20 4:42

Hi Pat,
Sky has bright colours on this sunset shot. And I guess those trees had great autumn glow too although shadows don't really reveal them. There is certaind feeling of colder nights approaching. Thanks for the science lesson too! Here sunsets are at best on summertime as in wintertime half cloudy weathers are not so common. If it's not totally dull weather, then clear cloudless sky is option on the other end of the scale.
Kari

Paolo (40651) 2008-02-20 6:05

Hi Pat, amazing one, with wonderufl colours on the sky on fifre for the sunrise.
good quality and good composition too with the tree.
thanks, ciao

jlbrthnn (37000) 2008-02-20 12:24

Good evening Pat,
This image resembles a table. The colors are splendid and are put forward by the tree and the dark foreground. Thank you for the explanations contained in your note. Very beautiful and good work.
Have a good evening.
Cordially
Joël

pboehringer (770) 2008-02-20 20:50

Pat,
I remember such light in Oregon, specially on one night at John Day Fossil Beds close to Sheep Rock. I was taking pictures and thinking "what a tremendous thermal inversion" (how dorky :-) !) and all of the sudden a storm of 10 minutes blow everything apart and we stand there wet and without a tent. The 10 minutes wind was so fierce that it have taken everything away.
So, I can witness your note, that the light in rural OR is really like that and your inclusion of the aspen in the foreground gives an additional element to the dramatic sky colors.
Peter

John_F_Kennedy (30689) 2008-02-21 4:02

The movement of the clouds adds a nice dynamic to the photo.
Really great sunset.
Best wishes,
Achim

pablominto (40020) 2008-02-22 2:29

Hello Pat,
This is a fine composition in black and different shades of red!
The burning clouds make a fine background for the silhouetted trees, and the composition conveys the autumn mood well!
Greetings,
Pablo -

yedirenk (7151) 2008-02-22 11:04

Hi Pat,
superb colours,excellent composition.very well done.best regards.

Cevdet

turkamerikali (4772) 2008-02-23 10:02

Hi Pat,
Beautiful Sunrise capture my friend.
I like your tree silhouettes,colors,contrast,Sky,note and framing.TFS
Have a Nice Weekend,
CT

gunbud (27559) 2008-02-24 20:22

Hi Pat,
Wonderful vertical presentation of these blazing early night colors. The gold blue and yellow blend perfectly against the lovely silhouetted trees. Very interesting note on how weather effects the night sky.

rbcy1974 (20742) 2008-02-25 6:00

HellO Pat
Incredible scene
the sky looks like its on fire,
very nicely complemented by the silhuetes of the trees
well done
Regards
Daniel

xuaxo (5637) 2008-02-27 11:52

Hi Pat
Interesting explanations in the note, matched by a great picture.
SAA, F

delic (6735) 2008-02-27 12:03

Hi Pat,
Very nice colors in the sky. Tree is well placed. Would consider cropping the black bottom. Best wishes,
Hakan

Davidwh (3652) 2008-02-27 13:16

Hi Pat,
A great note and the perfect image to emphasis your explanation.Those truly are amazing colours.Take care and enjoy the rest of your week.
Regards, David

izmirli (2931) 2008-02-28 3:15

merhaba dear pat
excellent colours and excellent silhouettes.well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

jmcl (13721) 2008-02-28 17:17

Hi Pat,

Best sunset note on TE : )

I love the way the angle of the branches and the clouds seem to work together .. vivid and I think the contrast works well .. very nice.

take care,

John

feather (49848) 2008-03-01 3:28

This is a real beauty Pat. I particularly like the start of the blue in the sky to add some contrasting colour. The composition is very well thought through with the inclusion of the aspen, in particular the non-silhouetted leaves. Interesting information in your note too. The first time I visited your gallery on my return I was drawn to the lenticular cloud. Good job I didn't miss this one altogether. Good work
Kath
Hope your parents' health is improving
K

bakes888 (18055) 2008-03-04 23:07

Hi Pat. That is a very scientific explanation for a very artistic photo! Wonderful colours not only in the sky but in the tree leaves also. Nice composition with well balanced positive and negative space. (getting scientific ;-) Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

Angshu (33324) 2008-03-11 2:09

Hello Pat
Long time no hear. You've also not being posting for quite some time now. I hope all is fine at your end, especially with your parents.
A very good fiery sky, starting with the blue & offset by the dark silhouettes of the foliage in the lower half.
Take care
Best Regards
Angshu

josepmarin (33591) 2008-04-01 12:08

Hi Pat,
I like this sky burning with the light of the sunrise, with a few beautiful tones orange that they contrast with the blue of the sky and with the dark silhouettes of the trees in FG.
It is a very beautiful and suggestive photo, which on having looked at her calms the spirit.
Nice shot.
HLJ
Josep

Simon415 (9) 2008-06-05 17:21

Pat,
Great note, very informative, but isn't the photo a little oversaturated to prove the point. Funny all these members never say anything negative. The rest are good. Most of the photos are very good. But this one and a couple others are pushing too far in saturation.
SL