Amazing sunset

When we hear the word 'sunset', we tend to think of a static thing, but the last half hour of daylight today was an amazing ongoing show.  As I drove east toward home, I was seeing very cool clouds with a pink tinge, but the real excitement was behind me.  When I got off the Interstate and turned south, the view out the passenger side window almost literally took my breath away.  It was not pink; it was golden, and the angle of the sun on the clouds created amazing highlights of shadow.  It was changing rapidly; by the time I actually got home, the sun was hitting the horizon; it was much pinker.  By the time I got the camera and got really clear of the trees, I'd missed most of the show, but it was still so beautiful it was a spiritual experience; it really made me feel lucky to be alive.

The pictures I took aren't all I'd hoped, but at least they're something.  If I took more time I might be able to adjust the color to be a little better.  The reds come through well but the blue patch on the left side should be much bluer.  And a number of the ones I'm not posting, the camera did a lousy job of light metering and the clear sky patches are blown out.  Someday maybe I'll learn to be enough of a photographer to remember to stop just looking at the image I see in the viewfinder and also consider the settings and the review and histogram.

( click for pictures )