Several wildfires were burning in the western states (California, Oregon, Washington) this week. The sunsets have been really amazing with intense red and oranges from the smoke. On Friday, I headed to a park that had some elevation above power lines to capture the sunset. This was a park that I discovered that day — Kunming Park. This park used to be called Rosedale Park, but was renamed when Kunming became a “Sister City”. At the park there are three boulders that were imported from Kunming, China. The orange light from the sunset really enhanced the color of the boulders.
Kunming Park Boulders
About this time, several people had arrived at the park, mainly locals, to enjoy the sunset at the end of the work week. In the following image, I captured the sun as it was about to set below the mountains behind the tree.
Sun Setting, Kunming Park
Panning towards the south, away from the sun, the orange was more muted. Also, the layering of the mountain ranges and clouds was more distinct.
Smoky Sunset, Kunming Park, No 1
The park had some interesting steps, with an S-curve, that creates a leads into the image.
Curved Steps Kunming Park
When the sun dropped below the mountains, the orange color of the sky became more intense, as can be seen in the image below.
Smoky Sunset, Kunming Park, No 2
I zoomed in to capture the cloud bank that was hanging above the mountains.
Cloud Bank Above Mountains, At Sunset
I waited, watched and experienced the sunset. Finally, after the sun had dropped further down, the underside of the clouds were lit by the orange sun beams.
Last Rays Of The Sunset Catching Clouds
A few minutes later, the colors faded as the sun disappeared well below the horizon.