East End Park - HDR Sunrise 4 - Sky on Fire

Posted by Eric Fry (Houston, TX, United States) on 17 December 2008 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

After a short break for a cigarette and a discussion with a nearby tree, the flames that melted Icarus' wings appeared. It's the bright blazes like this that make me love watching sunrises. You just never know if it's going to happen if you don't wait long enough...

So what does all of this have to do with me learning about meteorology? I've started paying attention to the forecasts, especially about wind direction and cloud levels. Here in Houston, we often get weather patterns where surface winds come off of the Gulf of Mexico, bringing low clouds, and upper level winds come from the west, bringing a higher cloud deck. Weather like that produces some truly spectacular sunrises in Houston.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you all have a great day,
Eric

Check out the photography of a friend of mine outside of Aminus3:
Brian Dykes' Blue Echoes Photography - Beautiful nature and city images from the guy that turned me on to Adobe Lightroom

vfxy Photoblogs

Comments (12)

Mary from PA, United States

Wow! It was definately worth waiting for..what fantastic color!

17 Dec 2008 5:06am

@Mary: Thank you so much, Mary!

Linerberry from Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand

Wowzer!! That is just incredible!! I have never seen such perfect colours! Its just heaven on earth! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful sunrise series Eric....Amazing! 5 Stars from me:-)

17 Dec 2008 6:59am

@Linerberry: Thank you so very much for all your great comments and support, Caroline! I'm very glad that you enjoyed these photos.

"I get up early, so you don't have to!" LOL

Maxine from Rangiora, New Zealand

all I can say is that Icarus must have gone down in a blaze of glory! This is beautiful Eric.

17 Dec 2008 7:47am

@Maxine: Thank you very much, Maxine!

dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States

a radiant stunner of a sunrise!! just gorgeous!!! bravo Eric!!!

17 Dec 2008 8:20am

@dj.tigersprout: Thanks, Jaycee! I'd love to go far north and catch some of that great twilight color that you've been bringing us the past few days!

Scene by Sharon Photography from Kingston, Ontario, Canada

I agree with Mary - this is what makes getting up early worth it

17 Dec 2008 11:09am

@Scene by Sharon Photography: Yes, indeed, it does make early rising worth it, Sharon. Thanks for the comments and support!

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Beautiful

17 Dec 2008 11:41am

@grouser: Thanks, Grouser!

Roman from Thunder Bay, Canada

this is truly beautiful work Eric and very interesting piece of information.

cheers
Roman

17 Dec 2008 1:21pm

@Roman: Thank you very much, Roman! I don't know if that weather information applies to other places as well, but it may be worth getting up a bit early and checking out a nice open spot if you hear something like that in your forecast.

Cheers,
E

Bonj from Jefferson City, United States

Nice sunrise shot.

17 Dec 2008 6:07pm

@Bonj: Thank you, Bonj!

Sandrine from Cincinnati, United States

Stunning!

17 Dec 2008 6:08pm

@Sandrine: Thanks, Sandrine!

Tony Duque from Raleigh, United States

Great finish to the series! That last one sure makes the point that you have to be willing to wait things out... and that the benefits of doing so can't really be predicted.

I, too, have become more informed re weather patterns and about the variables that contribute to the look of a sunrise or one sunrise's evolution. The vertical component is the most complex, I think... the types of clouds at different elevations... and, you bet, the nature of the winds within those levels. All of it combines to make an interesting and largely un-solvable puzzle... at least for near-term predictions. That, of course, is exactly why we show up with more hope than predictions for the sky to really work when conditions appear to be favorable. It's great fun, for sure. Thanks again, Eric, for your wonderful series!

17 Dec 2008 10:24pm

@Tony Duque: Thanks, Tony! You're absolutely right about the unpredictable nature of getting these colors and tones on the clouds, but at least with some knowledge of the upper-level forecasts, I can make better choices on which mornings to sleep in!

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

oh the colours have really shown through in this photo! excellent golden tones and the extra light from the sun above the horizon gives the clouds really good texture and emphasises their shapes very nicely! and of course reflection is superb as well!

18 Dec 2008 2:50am

Earnest from Oklahoma, United States

Fantastic... your usual high standard!

18 Dec 2008 6:05pm

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ISO 64
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