A Beautiful Sunrise

Isn't this amazing? I love this image and I enjoy sunrises. I happen to enjoy sunsets, too, but I never seem to be in a place where the sunset is spectacular and also can be taken while indoors and get this rather unusual look.

I take images through glass all the time, especially this time of year, since I have this thing about being cold. I have taken many rising sun images from all over but there is something about this glass that creates the "phantom sun" that is in the lower part of the image. And amazingly enough, I may have somehow gotten the moon. It was a new moon when I took this last week, and I don't know how, but there is a crescent-shaped shadow in front of the phantom sun. It's the only image that came out this way. So maybe something else created that shadow... dirt on the glass? But if it was dirt, why didn't it show up in any other photo? I stood there and took images of the rising sun from the same spot for a few minutes, many images. (The first pictures I took had a tree in front if it, so I moved until the shot was clear.) It would have shown it somewhere else, but it is not in any other images.

I love nature, I love astronomy, and I love the images of the rising sun. It has all the components of the things I enjoy and it looks pretty neat. I took this at the beginning of a long day. I happened to see the red of the rising sun again the the outside of the building through a window, grabbed the camera and went to take some pictures. Not that I don't have a gazillion images of the sun rising, but every one is different, and this certainly has some unique aspects.

This following image was taken before the other one... the weather wasn't great that day, but it was perfect that morning - a thick layer of clouds was just above horizon, and then there was a clear section above and then more clouds above. It may not be a great day but it made for a gorgeous sunrise. I take pictures at all times of the day of the sun, but none come out like this - big, red, amazing... This is what makes magic.

Here again you can see the phantom sun, this time very close to the real one. I still like the look - as though we have two suns rising. There are binary systems out there, and I'm sure that there are binary systems that can support life.

The round ball below, however, is not the Moon. There's a water tower there. I don't think I've ever noticed that before. How funny is that? I love this picture. It's just a sharp image, even with the tree there.

The day I took these pictures was a long hard day, and the following day was, too. But every hard day has its rewards: my long-awaited boots finally came in! Check these babies out:

I ordered another pair of boots from Catskill Mountain Moccassins in October 2007 at the Maryland Renaissance Faire. They were the fully Monty, the whole nine yards, the final pair with all the bells and whistles. I have three other pairs, but all of them had basic features, as each item has its own associated costs. I did upgrade them over the years, but I wanted to buy one pair with all the trappings and no holds barred.

I got my basic boots in chocolate brown, with the leaf-looking green and white leather trim with the flaps on top and a green leaf applique, which you really can't see in this picture, and the braided piece to close the boots. They are extra padded and so comfortable, like walking on air!

A perfect end to the day!