Tag Archives: effect

Strange Sunset Light in the Sky

Sunsets are a regular theme for photographers since they provide a scene that resonates with people.  I have shot plenty of them myself.  However, while on Orcas, I saw something in the sky which I was quite baffled by and taken with.  The sun was setting in the west and, looking off in that direction, the sky was lighting up as you would expect.  However, looking directly south, the sky was doing something very odd.  I don’t know exactly what was happening but my guess is that there was a lot of moisture in the sky in that direction and it was reflecting the setting sun back in our direction.  It was a localized effect and quite something to see.

Low Rainbow for Winter

The weather may have been highly variable for my visit to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, this did have a side benefit.  Lots of rain followed by sudden sun means a good chance of a rainbow.  That is exactly what we got.  The rainbow was very wide and flat which I assume is a function of the sun angle at this time of year.  It looked pretty unusual and very cool so I figured I would share it here!

If You Want Shocks, You Don’t Need Fast Jets

Every once in a while, when photographing a fast jet at transonic speeds, you might get something in the background that allows the diffraction caused by the formation of shockwaves to be visualized.  I have posted about that here.  I was in Vancouver and shooting the floatplanes taking off from the harbor (since it is a Canadian harbor, perhaps I should write harbour).  As I was looking through the images zoomed in to check on sharpness, I realized that there was a visual effect of a similar nature.  (If you think this is a Schlieren effect, it is not.  That is a technique that involves a certain type of lighting to show the density differences but should not be applied to every time you see it in the wild.)

I don’t know whether what is showing up is the result of shocks forming on the props as they spin rapidly or just the tip vortices causing a similar effect.  You can often see diffraction in trailing vortices.  Whatever the reason, as you look above the aircraft at the patterns of structures on the shoreline beyond, you can clearly see some interesting effects.  Since the props are spinning fast and there is an overlap of the wakes from each pass of a blade, the shapes are rather complex.  Now I know that this is a thing, I might be tempted to take a longer lens and see what I can get in more detail of this interesting visual effect.