glow Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Sean Phillips Photography

Panoramic image of Mount Lorette at Sunrise

I waited for a long time after the sun rose so that I could make this image of Mount Lorette reflected in the Lorette Ponds in Kananaskis Provincial Park. And I almost didn’t get the shot!

I really wanted to catch the Alpenglow on the peak of Mount Lorette, and in the reflection in the water, but it didn’t happen with the initial sunrise. The morning glow on the face of the mountain came as sun rose over the horizon on the prairies, but then faded as the sun climbed. It wasn’t until the sun actually rose up above the mountain peaks immediately to the east of me that the Alpenglow began! I love how the mountains light up in a magnificent red glow at times like these!

Fortunately I made a series of images very quickly because it was only a minute or so after this that a large flock of ducks flew in and landed on the pond in front of me, destroying the glassy smooth finish on the surface. The Alpenglow was over before the pond was calm again. But I got the image I wanted!!

Prairie Glow

I love the way the morning light glows in the prairie fields. These stalks of grain seemed to be reaching for the sun as it rose and the sparkling dew drops added to the mood. The sun rises so early these days and I haven’t been able to get out to enjoy it as much as I do at other times of the year, so this was a pretty special morning for me. Never forget to look around you and appreciate what you have!

Invasive Beauty

Canada Thistle is an invasive weed that spreads rapidly in open grassland and farm fields. It is considered to be a serious pest and it must be managed carefully to prevent major infestations. It is also very beautiful when it flowers, especially in the glowing morning light. I found these beauties on the side of a grain field and they were just asking to have their portrait made. The morning light was amazing and the sparkling dew on the stalks of the thistle and the surrounding grasses made this a powerful sight to see.

Prairie Fence at Sunrise

I drive the prairie roads almost every day and I’m always searching for something new and interesting to make images of. Although I find the prairies extremely beautiful, I have to admit that sometimes it all starts to look the same. Sometimes I really have to look really hard to find something different than all the images I’ve made before. Sometimes that can be extremely difficult. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

But there are other times when the picture just jumps out of the scene and there’s no question about what the final image is going to look like. When I saw the deep golden glow of the sunrise light up the farmland in front of me, I knew that if I just turned toward the sun I would see something magical. And it was.

Moonset at Sunrise

Every month there is one day, usually a day or two after the full moon, where the moon sets just as the sun rises. If you time it just right, and if it isn’t too hazy or cloudy outside, then you can see the moon looking huge as it drops below the horizon. With the sun coming up on the opposite horizon the moon will glow very brightly in a beautiful shade of orange or pink.

I was out for an early morning birding trip yesterday and I had hoped to be able to make some nice pastoral images of the moon dropping behind the Rocky Mountains with the open fields of the foothills in the foreground. While I did see the sunrise, unfortunately the moon dropped into a cloudbank on the western horizon long before it was low enough for the pictures I has in my minds eye.

Before going to bed last night I told my wife that if our son, who has been sleeping very poorly lately, was awake before 6:30 AM then I would get up and take him with me for another attempt at my moon shot. Of course he woke up right at 6:30, which barely gave me enough time to get get both of us dressed and out the door, get all my gear into the car, and then find a nice location to shoot from… Fortunately we live near a ridge with a good view of the Rockies to the west, and so I went straight there. I had only 5 minutes from the time I parked the car to the time that the moon had fully dropped below the horizon. I managed to make a few images, and this one is one of my favorites of the bunch.

This image isn’t quite the pastoral scene that I had hoped make, but I like it anyway, and sometimes that’s how it goes. You can plan all you want, but if life gives you oranges instead of apples then you might have to make orange juice instead of apple pie! This is only the second time in the last year that everything came together perfectly for me to get my shot, and I have honestly been trying almost every month!