Magical blue hour

The "blue hour" is a term used in photography and art to describe a period of twilight when the sun is far enough below the horizon to produce a diffuse blue light in the sky.

The blue hour occurs when the Sun is far enough below the horizon so that the sunlight's blue wavelengths dominate due to the Chappuis absorption caused by ozone. Since the term is colloquial, it lacks an official definition such as dawn, dusk, or the three stages of twilight. Rather, blue hour refers to the state of natural lighting that usually occurs around the nautical stage of the twilight period (at dawn or dusk).

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Last day of the last year

The day started as well as it could, a bit cloudy and not too chilly. 

Later on the day we were driving home and saw this huge cumulus cloud and it was snowing so hard, that you couldn't see the horizon at all.

And the same thing in our home. Well, this actually passed our home by few kilometers, but there were few of those cumulus clouds that snowed hard.

Last sunset of the year 2024.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Overcast over lake

Overcast weather occurs when the sky is completely covered by clouds, often leading to a gray and gloomy appearance. This weather condition is typically associated with stratiform clouds, which are extensive, uniform layers of clouds that can cover large areas of the sky. These clouds form when moist air rises gradually, condensing into water droplets or ice crystals that spread out horizontally, creating a thick, even cloud cover. Overcast skies can occur at any altitude, from low-lying stratus clouds to higher altocumulus and cirrostratus clouds, but they most commonly involve low to mid-level clouds.

Overcast conditions can have several effects on the environment and daily life. The thick cloud cover blocks direct sunlight, which can lead to cooler temperatures and a more stable atmospheric condition. This type of weather often results in subdued lighting, which can affect visibility and the overall mood of people. Prolonged overcast periods can sometimes lead to feelings of melancholy or depression for some individuals. Additionally, overcast skies are frequently associated with precipitation, such as drizzle, light rain, or snow, although not all overcast conditions result in wet weather.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Moon Halo in the pitch dark

A moon halo is this enchanting optical phenomenon caused by the refraction and reflection of light, mostly through ice crystals in thin, cirrus or cirrostratus clouds high in the atmosphere. It results in a ring of light around the moon that looks almost supernatural. It’s pretty special when you catch one! You get to see a glimpse of how light and ice play together in our atmosphere.

To see a moon halo, you need three main ingredients: a bright moon (usually a full moon), clear skies, and those high, thin cirrus or cirrostratus clouds with ice crystals way up in the atmosphere. When the light of the moon hits those ice crystals, it bends and creates that mystical ring. It's like nature’s own little light show! 

It is quite fascinating now days to photograph night skies with your cellular phone. I mean it was almost pitch dark, but pointing phone on the sky and press the shutter button and 3 seconds later you get this.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Colourful October

Usually cloudscapes are great all year around, but especially cloudscape is awesome around autumn, since the landscape is changing colours too.

I had a lucky situation the other day when I was driving to work. Sun is just about to rise above the horizon. 

And when I turn to the bigger road, there it is, risen above the horizon. It felt like a... victory. Whole drive to work was kind of awesome, except few spots where the sun shined straight into my eyes as it were still low and the road leads straight in the path of sunshine.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

After rainy weather cloudscape is wonderful

While I was driving home from long drive, I noticed that the rain clouds have made away, and as the sun was ready to settle in, it gave a wonderful cloudscape in the sky. 

Rainbow was shooting almost straight into the sky, almost. The arc reached higher in the sky than normally because the sun was just above the horizon.

And the colours were magnificent. This purple haze lasted just a brief moment and then turned into orange reddish, as the sky would be on fire. Which also lasted just a brief moment too.

Check my other sunset cloudscape post.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Few Cloudscape timelapses

In my last post I wrote that I have managed to shoot few cloudscape timelapses in the summer time and here are some of those.

This one I shot at the end of July:

 

 And this just around midsummer festival:

I have few others from summer and I will posting them when I get around to post production.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish