Apocalyptic skies over MtLawleyShire

This is not sunset.  This is at least half an hour before sunset, and I think it is actually smoke from a fire up north.  It was a very hot afternoon which the temperature going up as the hour grew later rather than tapering off.  The temperature peaked at 37 degrees celsius at 4.30 pm, and it didn’t go down below 30 degrees celsius till well after midnight.

and the sun was struggling:

the sky looked like a painting from one of the Old Masters

 

The drama and painterliness of the scene enthralled me:

It almost looks as though the sun has created a concussion in the smooth running of that great cloud:

 

closer shots of sun in cloud and just clouds:

 

As the cloud gained more strength, as the sun sank towards the horizon, the colours paled, the drama was subsumed into the inevitable:

Shots of the entire sky, with all the colours of late afternoon and deep sunset all in the one place:

This sequence, as one part of dense cloud looked as though it was a wolf swallowing the sun:

 

 

The sun is fighting the cloud:

 

a moment of startling drama:

As the sun was swallowed entirely, there was another sense of painting – Turner-esque and soft with the rays of light fighting out:

The sky devolved into blues and whites with touches of colour:

and at the last, when sunset had been swallowed, a view of the clouds and delicate colours looking down William Street towards the city:

Today is it (finally) raining, and there is heavy cloud.  I’m not sure there will be a sunset, but the rain and the coolth of the world is lovely 🙂

The Eastern Sky of the Intriguing Sunset over MtLawleyShire

The Eastern skies were luminous with moisture laden cloud.

Ibis were stark against the wash of pink and gold as they flew home across the south-east

this is me playing with shapes and lines and distant ibis 🙂

But there were great bulwarks of cloud:

 

and river falls of virga illuminated by the light of the sunset:

 

great cloud structures:

 

and an overall spread that went from pinks and oranges to incandescent pinks:

 

and these – towering in the eastern sky;

 

an astonishing sunset, from the eastern skies to the west!

 

 

An intriguing MtLawleyShire sunset

It had been a strange day – hot and sultry and cloud cover almost such that rain was sure to follow.  It didn’t but the clouds were very interesting:

 

a tropical-looking sky:

the first hints of sunset revealed the texture of the clouds:

blazing in an art deco window:

the texture of those clouds – not tight enough for cloth of gold, too rumpled and filled with folds of shadow:

the sun shine momentarily clear in a blaze of glory:

the sun sank below the horizon and the clouds began to fill:

they glowed, became luminous, spread all across the western sky:

Intense and beautiful their structure changeable and :

the colour grew richer:

intensified again:

the wonderful contrasts between clear sky and cloud:

 

till it darkened;

and faded into coming night:

MtLawleyShire on an outing to the city

On a hot day, I met friends in the city.  As I waited outside the entrance to teh underground train station, I was intrigued by the reflections and shapes around me.

Taller buildings reflected in the round front of the modern styles around the entrance:

 

reflections and touches of colour:

 

across the road, blocky and odd shapes against a sky of cloud and light:

 

inside the modern building: yellow lighting:

 

contrasts on the exterior:

inside, where we had lunch – more of that lighting and a wall of bottles:

 

and a ceiling of colour:

 

This is looking up through all the hanging pieces to the glass ceiling and the shadowy shapes of the buildings soaring up into the sky beyond:

Outside again.  City laneways:

 

Another laneway:

 

a conjunction of city architectural styles, the first being intriguing light:

 

 

Slices of city:

a touch of art deco:

grace and plane tree leaves:

that graceful building from different angles, with all the different skyscrapers behind:

 

 

 

& a black and white of that lovely old building:

blocks on top of the imperialistic post office building:

It was a fun day where consumerism was indulged in – to great and long-lasting effect 🙂

A slow MtLawleyShire sunset

After an oppressively hot day, the late afternoon clouded over.  It looked like rain, but there was none, although it was much cooler:

a group of ibis flew across the clouded sky towards their roost:

and in the west, the sun was shrouded, casting a ring across striations of cloud:

 

As it sank lower, it was reflected in, then seemed to bend the clouds, creating interesting shades amidst the layers:

 

 

A hint of colour, sullen embers marking the meeting with the far horizon:

 

barely making a reflection in art deco windows:

 

I waited a few moments, but the day became duller.  I returned inside, uploaded the photos, checked outside and

OH!

The sky had exploded into late opulence:

 

flaring crimson waves of light:

an upturned desert of red:

and it began to fade into purples and pinks:

 

washing the lower part of the sky:

 

leaving a luminous glow far down on the horizon:

Reflecting the heat, but hopefully not for tomorrow.  This was a selection from what was a remarkable and beautiful sunset, from subtle to outrageous 🙂