The advantages of flying over wilderness areas are the unique views of natural phenomenon that can be seen from this special zone in the sky. While flying and filming in the northwest area of Zion National Park late one winter evening I experienced one such occurrence.
The sun had set about 15 minutes prior. In the distance, amber hues of sunset hugged the horizon bathing the distant stratosphere with a warm golden radiance.
Purple Clouds Above Purple Ground Below ~ Click to EnlargeAs I flew along what caught my attention was the purple and magenta glow on the bottom of the clouds (in the immediate upper foreground of the image above). This glow was from the vibrant colors of the rock formations of Zion, reflecting upwards. Note the purple texture of the clouds, and on the ground the prevalent tints of purple strewn across the landscape.
On the ground, magnificent layers of exposed strata, hundreds of millions of years old, were enticed by the alpenglow light conditions of the evening dusk to emit a reflective glow which cast light upwards into the sky and onto the bottom of the clouds I was flying next to. It was a remarkable sight and a really interesting experience to be up in this, to become bathed in this same glowing effect. The entire interior of my bush plane cockpit had a purplish hue.
Like all atmospheric light conditions, this effect was fleeting, only lasting a few glorious minutes. And as I flew on past Zion and out over the Hurricane Cliffs to the south, the alpenglow light began to fade, turning the amber gold hues darker and changing the glow on the clouds from purple to dark blue which matched the earth tones of the ground below.
Pine Mountains Across Black Ridge ~ Click to EnlargeContinuing on south past the cliffs, I turned around to lens the following photo of Little Creek Mountain (in the middle foreground) and Gooseberry Mesa (directly behind it) with the Vermilion Cliffs of Zion in the distant background. And in the middle of the image on the horizon a very bright Timber Top Mountain rises above the surrounding mountains atop Kolob Terrace.
Even this long after sunset the ambient light is enough to coax a reflective glow from the vibrantly colored Vermilion Cliffs and surrounding formations.
Little Creek Mountain & Gooseberry Mesa ~ Click to EnlargeAs I continued flying south the ambient light began to fade into a deeper color spectrum until the clouds became as dark as the ground and the golden glow along the horizon began to take on a darker mix of brown and burnt umber with a golden tint. It was truly beautiful. And this is why I fly in these remote wilderness areas!!
Dusk to Dark Across the Zion Wilderness ~ Click to EnlargeI lensed these images at different times while exploring this awe-inspiring wilderness area for my ongoing project, "Where Eagles Fly".
About The Project
Where Eagles Fly - The American Wilderness Expedition is my personal mission to introduce people to these amazing locations that surround us. I am piloting a bush plane while exploring and filming throughout the remote back-country areas of North America to raise awareness of the 47% of the USA and 90% of Canada that remain unpopulated wilderness.
About The Author
My name is Zedekiah Morse and I'm a Bush Pilot, Photographer, Explorer and Filmmaker. I live in the Rocky Mountains and devote my time and resources to exploring as much of the world as I can by air. If you wish to watch a short film detailing how I do my work and this project, go here.
If you like what you see here upvote and resteemit so that others may experience these wondrous places.
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Thanks for your support and Yehaw!!
Awesome shots!
Yehaw & Steem On :)
Yehaw indeed!! And onward full steem ahead!
this is wonderful photography.this photography impressed to me.resteemed
Thank you for saying this, I am happy you enjoyed looking at it!
Welcome back!
Your trip was amazing!
Stunning pitcures!
I hope the gallery was good!
✌️
Thanks, yes the gallery trip was good. It is going to be an awesome space... I will have news on it soon.
You're welcome!I'm curious about it!..I Will wait it for!😉
Wonderful photos! Those colors are just magnificent. Hope you are having a great weekend!
Thanks I am, hope the same for you!!!
I love the yellow sky sandwiched between the higher purple clouds and the purple shadows on the ground, Quite striking.
I like that too! Very cool effect and seeing the picture is cool however image surrounded by it, up in it!! It was really awesome!
beautiful purple light and amazing ..
perfect photo shoot .. I really like the post.
Thank you !! I really appreciate you taking time to check it out and comment!
you're welcome, thank you too.
Like it my friend..
Very beautiful
Thanks DWI, I appreciate your kind comment!
Oh my goodness, what an incredible show you got to capture in your photos and your mind. Thank you for sharing these!
Thank you so much!! I am happy you enjoy them. My pleasure in sharing them, your response gives me so much joy that someone likes seeing this.
The colors of nature, combined with the meronanya sky make photos and scenery are witnessed very beautiful. You definitely never get tired of being in a kopkit airplane room. Hope you are healthy always and your project runs successfully. Best Regards @skypilot...
That is correct, I never get tired of doing this work! Thanks so much for your kind words!
Ur welcome @skypilot. I am glad to be able to say hello and comment on posting extraordinary people like you.
a beautiful place like this, makes our life feel good.
you @skypilot always share the beauty, with beauty like this, you are giving life spirit to many people.
That is a beautiful thing to say my friend. I thank you with all my heart. It really inspires me to know people like this work.
iy @skypilot, keep on sharing your beauty, because very many people will be waiting for posting like this.
Fantastic work!Congrats,love the sky,the colours ,everything.Love the colours.
Very well done and captured.Awesome shot!!!! This seems to belong to another world.! legends of all photos! impossible not to admire Congrats!
Thanks so much for your continued support for this work. I love doing this and I love even more that people seem to enjoy seeing these wonderful places.
Awesome colours in the sky... Great shots!
It truly was a glorious day!!!! Thanks for checking it out
Great shots once again, I love when you get the separation in colours like this in the sky, beautiful!
Thank you! Yes I agree, the separation of the colors is really awesome. I enjoy shooting the sky with clouds so much more than a clear sky! And when you have natural atmospheric effects like this it becomes really intense! Love it!
Yeah, whenever we are out shooting weddings we don't really want a clear blue sky!!
Stunning! Looks like a beautiful time of day for a photo flight! Great to see you back!
Thanks my friend, it was a great trip and I got a lot to write about from this short journey. That day was pretty awesome, I had never noticed the intensity of the reflective color before and I've flown over that area many times so it was a matter of being there at exactly the right moment!