The summer sunsets have been spectacular recently.  We’ve been getting lots of rain, and it often passes just before sunset.  The remaining clouds and the water in the air make for beautiful color.  For several nights in a row, I saw the beautiful colors and wished that I’d gone out with my camera.  Finally I made the trip to Magnolia Park over the July 4th weekend.  Nature provided some beautiful fireworks that evening!

When I first arrived, the sun had not yet dipped over the horizon.  The rays gleamed as they stretched across the sky.

It was nice chatting with another photographer as we watched the sun set.  “This is God’s gift to us,” he said.  I couldn’t have said it better.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, it started to throw beautiful light into the clouds, lighting them up like fireworks.  How appropriate for the July 4th weekend!

Whiskey likes this kind of firework.  It’s bright but not scary, and there are no noises to worry him.

I put on my telephoto lens and did a few shots of the horizon as the sun set.  Look at that bright orange!

But the better image was definitely the wide-angle shot.  The sky was completely lit with color.

The best colors are always after the sun sets.   The clouds glowed bright pink after a while.  I did use HDR on these images, but the colors really were this vivid.

All fireworks shows have to come to an end.  As the colors began to fade, the insects began to bite and I headed back to my car.  Blue Hour was upon us!