Out of This World

Tonight I was out watering the back garden because the temps here are still--unbelievably--in the high 80s.  I had my back to the mountains as I filled the bird bath, but when I noticed the water was gleaming this bizarre orange/pink/red, I turned to see what was causing it.

The sun was setting, tinting the sky with an otherworldly neon glow as it burned through the heat haze that has been looming over the region all day.  The sun itself was an indescribable color as well.  I dropped the hose and went for my camera.

Shot from my front deck.  The sky is glowing, but the orange/red of the sun wasn't coming across like it was in real life.

So I hit my telephoto, and narrowed my focal point right on the sun.  It turned the background dark, though in the bottom two photos you can see the shadow of the mountains.  I didn't care; it was the sun I wanted, not the background.

And holy crap.  I left Earth behind...

With my naked eye I hadn't seen any clouds, just the smoky haze, so it was totally amazing to see this streak that looked like something on the surface of a mysterious planet, rather than a cloud in front of the sun.

As I took the shots, the sun kept sinking, the colors kept changing, and it looked even more alien and beautiful.

Isn't this just amazing?  With the right tainted air, a great camera, perfect light, and timing...

...a person can actually journey out of this world.