In 1873 the explorer and adventurer William Butler wrote of his treks across the Canadian prairie in his book The Great Lone Land. In it, he wrote, “No ocean of water in the world can vie with its gorgeous sunsets …” This is the sunset on July 26, 2017, from Red Rock Coulee Natural Area in southeast Alberta, in big sky country. The waxing crescent Moon hangs in the west. The Sun is setting to the northwest amid a plume of forest fire smoke from the Rockies, tinting the setting Sun very red. Red Rock Coulee Natural Area contains this odd assortment of sandstone concretions. This is an 8-segment panorama with the 24mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
A panorama of the twilight sky and sunset colours in a very clear sky, with the 2-day-old waxing Moon in the southwest, demonstrating the angle between the crescent Moon and sunset point. From Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, July 25, 2017. This is a 3-segment panorama with the 24mm lens and Nikon D750. Stitched with ACR.
A grand display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 21, 2017, looking northeast and east with the 26-day-old thin waning crescent Moon just rising, and Venus bright as a “morning star” at right. This was the best NLC display of the summer to date, though many nights were plagued with cloud to the north or forest fire smoke. But seeing NLCs as high as this in the sky and well to the east, as at right is rare. This is a 7-exposure HDR blend with ACR with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D.
