Looking East

May 01, 2014

It was April Fool's Day and signs of spring were everywhere.  Ice and snow were becoming a thing of the past, the temperature was getting more tolerable and rain every few days meant more clouds in the sky.  This day in particular I was rushing to go shooting for dusk as clouds began to roll in late in the afternoon.  The sky was going to light up to the west, I just knew it.  But with summer suns setting over land compared to winter suns which set over a watery horizon, I wouldn't be able to get the shot I wanted.  Plus, the closer to the south coast you got, the less clouds there seemed to be!  I had to change my game plan.  If I wanted water and clouds I couldn't be by the south coast, and no chance of shooting with water and sun in the same frame either unless you wanted signs of trees and a populated sky line.

So I went to Black Point in Scarborough.  The wind was gently pushing clouds out of the west and the tide wasn't too high.  Waves weren't too active.  It was a calm and peaceful afternoon out on the rocks and I set up by a large tide pool for a long exposure.  Sure enough, more clouds moved in to fill the frame with color, and I snapped away as the sun set directly behind me.

Walking back to the car, all my predictions were right.  The westerly sky was bright orange and pink in a way we hadn't seen in months!  Brilliant neon shades of coral mingling throughout a wonderfully cloudy and textured sky.  It's always amazing that mother nature can recreate colors with this level of brilliance and wonder.  But my focus had been to the east, and while I was provided with more shades of purple than pink, it wasn't a loss.  While the region marveled at the light show to the west, I was captivated by the pacificity of the pastels to the east.




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