Hazy Sunsets


Even a low sun can be dangerously bright !   Always use proper filters and protect your eyes.


When there is a lot of dust and smoke in the atmosphere the sun may disappear even before it sets. As it nears the horizon refraction in different layers of air can distort the sun's shape. Be careful when trying to photograph the rising sun - it is surprising how quickly it can become dangerously bright.

On this occasion the changing optical density of the air coincides with different degrees of distortion.

The next morning the air was slightly clearer, but the temperature profile was different so the sun was distorted in a different way.

I intended to get a shot of the sun distorted by refraction just before it set. It looked promising with haze thick enough to reduce the brightness to a safe level. Some distortion was already visible here but the amount rapidly increases toward the horizon so a lower sun was desirable.

Unfortunately the haze was so thick that the sun disappeared nearly a degree above the local horizon.



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