Daily Archives: July 16, 2007

Chasing the red sun

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I was out and about tonight, taking my wife and boy for a walk, when I noticed the red sun. I don’t know what was in the sky that it was so hazy, but the haze diffused the sun quite nicely. Once our evening was over and the family was home, I took off to see what kind of opportunities this might present photographically. The first shot of note was the one above, the capitol silhouetted against a red sky.

My next stop was the river, where I met a couple of fellow sunset chasers and get some shots of the dramatic red orb reflecting off the mighty Missouri. I just wish I’d had the time to hike down to the shoreline, but sadly that wasn’t the case. This was taken from atop the cliffs at Double Ditch.

Sadly, the same haze that gave the sun its color and definition also prevented anything amazing with the surrounding sky. I watched it reach the horizon and the reflections disappear from the river. I packed it in for the night. Relish these sunsets now, for the winter will bring hazy, dreary skies. It’s already the middle of July…the summer flies, doesn’t it?

Northern Lights Saturday

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After we got done with the big show Saturday night (see the post below this one) my friend Mike and I headed back to his cabin along Lake Sakakawea. Along the way we saw some familiar lights in the sky. Yep, that’s right…after a long dry spell, I was finally going to get to take pictures of the Northern Lights! Here’s what we saw. I’m pretty sure the orange glow on the right is from Minot, as we were in a remote corner of Ward County.

I shot up another one of those notorious Minimum Maintenance roads that I’m known to favor. It seems that no matter where I am, even in a remote spot where I didn’t even know where I was, I can find those roads. They’re great for stomping on the brakes and taking pictures. Shortly after we took a couple of snapshots of the auroras and the Milky Way, the sky faded. That’s okay…we were fading too, after eleven hours of work. I pointed the truck back toward the lake, got a good night’s sleep, and made it back to Bismarck in time for church Sunday morning.