bowtie`

Tonight is a special with the three trees to the southwest of the parking area at the pond. I did not go down to the water because it looked like the best viewing would be more to the south. I got there when the back edge of the low level moisture was exiting the area... The only thing left for sunset was some cirrus blow off from the MCS a couple of states south of me. At sunset with the cirrus still sort of white... The best orange... The best red...

Approaching system sunset this evening. When I got to the pond looking south... Had a rather bright sundog on the south side of the Sun when I got to the water... I might have gotten a little heavy handed with the contrast and shot it al little bit too dark but I still like the way this looks... More of an overview here... Going to end with a partial of the sky with a rather neat looking burnt orange color...

All of the images from tonight was with the 16-35mm. Last glimpse of the Sun for the day. At 35mm... This shows how the blues can take over when the Sun gets behind the clouds. At 22mm... As I gave up and was walking back to the car. Looking southeast at 16mm...

The back edge of the back side of this last system was right along the Indiana/ Illinois border this evening. Thought there might be a little color sneaking in post sunset. I was right! With the 24-70mm At 43mm. The max orange... With the 100mm at 100mm of course. Max red...

^ Too bad the farm machinery was idle. But of course caught another train, as you always seem to do.

OK, you asked for it...

OK, that November shot would be perfect if not for those electrical wires Two shutters up for that shot

0.33 in my tippy bucket but the radar estimate out of KIND says only a trace. It is what it is.

Did not go out to the pond because it as still spitting rain drops. But there was a little color so I just took the camera out to the front corner of the property and hovered over the camera with my coat. Surprised I as able to keep the hair out of the images. I like how the wet roadway reflected some of the light... Zoomed in a bit ( to 35mm) to take most of the grocery out of the image...

Once again was involved in a race with a Cu field, some dry air from the northwest and another system in Arkansas. Started the evening with some crepuscular rays when I got out to the pond... This was just before the Sun popped out of the cloud deck. I amn proud of being able to get the contrast and the colors almost perfect for the different parts of the sky. Getting yellow and blue at the same time is rather tricky... Of course I was hoping for some great color post-sunset, and this time I was well rewarded...

Is this known as an UP long-term parking lot?

Tonight as a race with the cold dry air and the Cu field. The cold air won but not before I got two images... When I got out to the pond... The last before the majority of clouds vanished...

Was not a very comfortable evening at the pond. Only around 38 degrees when I got out there and the winds were still in the 15 to 20 mph range giving a real bite to the air. But there was something to look at so I bundled up and made a show of it. Looking south when I got out there. The silver and blue of the cirrus... The yellow as the Sun sank into the clouds on the horizon... Some faint orange around sunset. Looking southwest... And ending the night with a splash of red on the western horizon...

Dry-slotted here, only 0.13

Tis a blustery day, said Piglet to Pooh.

Only one shot this evening. Taken from the front yard. I had just finished mowing the grass and this little bit of color flashed on. I like the gravity waves looking ripples from the light pole to the far right side of the image...

Do you have 30 inches of room on your stake?

^ washboard roads, fun. Not!

OK, I have learned my lesson. No more multitasking for me. If I am going to eat, just eat. If I am going to take pictures, just take pictures. Tonight was a success because I did not mix the two. Looking southeast when I got to the pond... Looking southwest right after I walked down to the water... About as close to the local sunset as I can get. Right in that little notch above the interstate. Max dynamics post sunset... I probably waited to late to go back to the 16-35mm for an overview but it is what it is...

Did I ever make a whopper of a mistake this evening. 100% operator error. hen I changed lens before going to the pond I must have flipped it over to manual focus, and I never even checked before nor while I was taking the images. Only caught it when I downloaded all of them. The first image is the closest to focus as I bumped up the aperture to 22 trying to smooth the water out... I am only putting this last image up to see the colors. The focus is too hard to look at...

Any idea how ambi-dexterous you have to be to eat pizza while taking sunset pictures? Looking south-southwest when I first got to the pond... Here is a look due west just before the clearing over-took everything in that direction... Back looking south-southwest just about as the Sun hit the horizon. About as much color as I as going to get....

Squeeze play with the upper low to the north and the developing system pressing in from the south this evening. The low black clouds are from the upper low and the white and yellow clouds are from the system to the south... Some weak but strange shadows as the Sun sank lower... What little color there was close to sunset...

Tonight was a race between the left over moisture and the dry air wrapping in from the west. The dry air won but I still got a couple of clouds. The white clouds were basically retreating to the east when I got out there... When it got close to the sunset there was only this lonely cloud to the southeast... Switched to the 100mm for the last gasp of color...

I kind of violated the stay-at-home order this evening to get the sunset. Here I was at the local Pizza Hut waiting for my pizza to be done and took a pic in the parking lot with wires and trees of the white pre-sunset... After I picked up the pizza I made a speed run to the pond. What it looked like when I got there... Flipped over to the 100mm to get the deepest color post sunset...

How soon you forget. Once it hits Spring, the mudder season starts in earnest.