Sunset tonight (June 9, 2009) was spectacular, first with yellows, then shades of orange and pink. As the sun sank below the horizon, pinks deepened to impossible reds, and then it was over for another twenty four hours.
Couples who had come to Gates Pass to watch the spectacle sat a little while longer, enjoying the moment with each other. Two by two, they found their way off the mountain and back to the parking lot at the foot of the pass. Lights came on, engines started up, and they left.
But the sky wasn't through showing off. Tonight, my favorite photo came nearly half an hour after the reds had faded back to grey. The greys deepened into dark blue, while off to the west clear sky was still visible in patches. That faded away as night fell, and one by one the stars appeared.
Tucson is such a beautiful place to live. I'm blessed.
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Nifty! Very nifty!
Bill
Mike - I love the colors in the second photo, but the first photo is absolutely stunning!
Mike
That is what I like about the west - the colorful sun rises and sun sets...
Your building consultant for life in Nashville, TN
That is beautiful. You caught an awesome one there. So perfect.
fyi, I am slapping photos on facebook, if you want to look. no editing.
That's spectacular. I'll have to check my supplies and see how much blue I have.
Mike, you are quite the photographer! Those are spectacular.
Connie,
Thanks for the encouragement; the clouds were spectacular last evening.
Lenn,
I thought of your paintings while I was snapping the shutter last night.
Doreen,
I'll check out the photos on F/B.
Michael,
It does provide blog fodder!
Mike,
It sort of looks stormy without being threatening. That little bit of clear blue sky on the top right sort of offsets the darkness on the left.
Bill,
I knew you'd like this one. Thanks for being the first to comment.
Mike in Tucson
Man those shots are just incredible Mike! Talk about capturing the moment.
Mike I've not seen sunsets like that around here. One reason I love visiting my folks in Tucson! The desert has so much beauty in its own way. Thanks for sharing!
Mike - you are a real pro .... you take the BEST pics!!
Are you going to publish a cofee-table book?
Thanks for the nice view of your neck of the woods.
I have friends that spend several weeks a year in Arizona and always talk about the sunsets. I see why now.
Absolutely breathtaking! Both photos are incredible - the first with that cactus in the foreground WOW! Thank you!
Amy,
Thanks for stopping by to comment. I think this is my all time favorite saguaro cactus photo.
Terry,
It's time for you to follow their example! LOL
Don,
You're most welcome!
Stewart,
I use my photos to make greeting cards. Check out the photo of one of my cards on Cynthia Tilghman's blog.
Lee & Pamela,
Give us a shout the next time you're in town; let's have a little Active Rain get-togher!
Bill,
That's why I always carry my camera with me. Thanks for commenting!
Mike in Tucson
Mike,
What else is there to say? These are just spectacular photographs. Excellent. :)
Steve
Mike - amazing colors you have there. You did a great job capturing it with you camera. Great job.
Mike,
You got some amazing shots. The one with the various blues and the patch of clear sky is very fascinating and I love the way you described it happened.
Gerry,
Thank you! (It's like I said in the post. I'm blessed to live here, and the camera's always with me.) This is one of my all time favorite photos.
Larry,
Thanks for the encouragement!
Steve,
Thank you, my friend!
Mike in Tucson
WOW! Those are some stunning photos! You keep tempting me ....
One of these days I'm going to call you from the airport and tell you to get ready to show me the desert!
This almost makes me want to write a post about the olden days, when I was young and living down there and life was easy. I'd have to steal borrow your photo, though. ;)
Doreen,
One Active Rainer did a painting of this photo!
Carol,
You're on. Just give me a little notice so I can change the schedule.
Mike in Tucson
What a contrast in colors. I can't stop staring at that blue one. I don't remember ever seeing an evening picture quite like that before.
Time for a re-blog!
Mike - You sure have some wonderful Sunrise/ Sunset photographs and I always enjoy looking at them. I have featured your post at .............
CLOUDS AT ACTIVERAIN (clouds attached)
VB
Vegas Bob,
Thanks for the feature, and the link!
Bruce,
Thanks for the re-blog; I'm glad you enjoyed the post and photos.
Blue Saguaro, I think, is my favorite photo to date.
Mike in Tucson
Mike, your sunset shots rival anything we have here in Florida. I agree, Blue Saguaro is an award-winning shot. The clouds, the light, the composition - superb!
Sharon
Sharon,
Thanks for the compliment! I'll see you soon on your blog.
Mike in Tucson
Mike - now I see why your eyes shone when you told me about these photos the other day...absolutely stunning. Methinks we'll see some of your work in "Arizona Highways" someday (although you may have to change your last name to Muench)!
Mike, looking at this again, this should be in a gallery. You are so generous to share it with us. Seriously, do you show your works in any Tucson galleries?
Sharon
Sharon,
No, but I could use an agent... :)
Kent,
It was good to see you Friday at the Stewart Title Grand Opening on River Road. I do particularly like this photo!
Mike in Tucson