Weird sky/cloud formations

Early Sunday evening, I noticed some weird cloud formations -- or, perhaps, contrails/jet streams? -- in the west/southwestern sky while I was outdoors and happened to have my PowerShot G12 with me, so I took some pictures. Turns out ... I had a short window of opportunity to lock in on a color shade, as the setting sun and/or its reflected rays transformed the color of these formations from the usual bright white to a bronze tint in a span of 10 minutes or so during the time I was observing and photographing.

There probably is a perfectly good explanation for these helter-skelter patterns, and they probably are contrails. But of these streaks looked too wide and splayed for jet streams, and yet ... too narrow and too tubular for clouds. 

I did a quick hunt online, and not surprisingly found that weird cloud formations are not usual, but in the pictures of examples of "weird cloud formations," I didn't see any examples that resembled these helter-skelterlike skyscapes!

The image at the top is a broad overview of the spectacle; the one immediately below is a somewhat tighter look at the same composition. Both were taken before the aforementioned bronzing effect, the first of which you can see in the portrait orientation two shots below.

Above and the next two below: After the sunset/bronzing effect took hold. That tiny black figure to the right of the formation on the left is a passing aircraft. A crop of the above frame to bring out better detail of the aircraft appears below.

 

 

Above: This is not entirely a sunset bronzing effect; while I did capture this after the sunset started tinkering with the cloud colors, it's also the result of a PowerShot G12 in-camera melding of three images captured in rapid succession (also known as high-dynamic range, or HDR).

Perennial outdoor color show, revisited

Inspired by yet another great day Monday, I shrugged off the cold that's been dogging me since Thursday and made another foray into Garfield Park in Indianapolis while the fall colors were still pretty showy.

This time, I took along -- and used -- my polarizing filter, and the hunch paid off handsomely, capturing some gorgeously rich blues in the sky and all but eliminating glare on a fire station window that reflected some brilliant yellows and oranges from nearby trees. My only regret was not bringing along a longer focal-length lens to see what it would have gotten me for the jet stream shots below. Instead, all of these were shot with my Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens.

Above: Intermittent sunlight splashing through a maple

Above: First of three frames following a jet and its thin stream nearing a much-closer-to-the-ground yellow-leafed tree

Above: Past the first branch, heading toward the second

Above: Safely past the second branch, and steering clear of the rest

Above: Different trees, different skyscape, including clouds and (above) a jet stream swath much wider than the one above. Adding a special touch is the little bird perched on a leafless branch in the upper right corner.

Above: Fire Station 29, the bountiful tree's reflection cast on the windows along the side, as seen from the sidewalk flanking East Raymond Street, just west of Pleasant Run Parkway, North Drive

Above: A little closer look at the reflection off the fire station's window panels.

Above: Even closer ...

Above: A stately, but relatively young, tree in Garfield Park's Grove of Remembrance, just west of Fire Station 29, that was dedicated by the community in October 1920 in honor of the 387 Marion County soldiers and sailors who died in World War I (1914-18). Trees in the grove have been planted in intervals and are just west of the Fire Station.

Above: A most unusual conifer that naturally curves at the top.

Above: Another frame of contrasting sunlight through a tree, allowing for some spectacular highlights.

Above: The coda image in this post is actually not from the park; it's from my backyard garden and features the vivid red leaves of a Henry's Garnet (itea virginica).