Floating On A Dream


The last day sundown of July was quite something special. From my backyard I cannot see the sun itself set as it slips behind a wooded hill and neighbouring houses. Yet last night the way the lowering sun reflected its dying light off the clouds it was almost like a 360 degree sunset. The sky in the image was taken facing the east.

I am always taken by clouds, and the different types and layers that decorate the sky, and how the changing light interplays with all these elements. Sometimes it is like peering out the window of our world with fresh, clean eyes, making a connection with the cosmos that stirs the emotions perhaps on a primitive level. After all, that window out is the very same window that humankind has been looking through from the dawn of ages. And maybe, just maybe, it is that recognition that we are a part of something much bigger and that sense of ‘feeling’ and connection that trully makes us human and what and who we are.


July Sunset

31 thoughts on “Floating On A Dream

  1. Anne

    I too am fascinated by clouds and miss the sunsets for much the same reasons as you. I am usually up well before sunrise though, which can be enjoyed in full. For some reason your final two sentences reminded me of John Gillespie Magee’s poem, ‘High Flight’:
    Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
    And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
    Sunward Iโ€™ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
    Of sun-split clouds, โ€“ and done a hundred things
    You have not dreamed of โ€“ wheeled and soared and swung
    High in the sunlit silence. Hovโ€™ring there,
    Iโ€™ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
    My eager craft through footless halls of airโ€ฆ

    Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
    Iโ€™ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
    Where never lark, or ever eagle flew โ€“
    And, while with silent, lifting mind Iโ€™ve trod
    The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
    Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Peter Hillman

      Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and powerful poem, Anne. I am fortunate to be able to see the sunrise in full, too, but I am rarely up early enough to see it.

      Like

  2. David

    Very nice with great colors! I once capture a similar sunset looking to the east between tall two buildings in a downtown area. I had several layers of pastel colors similar to yours only the were more evenly stacked one upon the other like a multi layer cake. The colors were so delicate that I was afraid the camera couldn’t capture them but it did. However, your are so much richer and more vibrant, really stunning.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Steve Gingold

    Beautiful shot, Pete. The sky is endlessly fascinating and changes before our eyes as we watch. This is evidence that we need not travel far, or at all, to see the glory of our planet overhead. What a nice vision to end a day…or in my case most often, begin one. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 2 people

  4. shoreacres

    Your photo is glorious. It’s also a reminder of how much I miss the sunsets I saw daily from my old apartment. I fully intended to find a spot relatively close to home to watch sunrises and sunsets, and I still haven’t done that — after more than six months! Maybe now that I’ve seen this, I’ll actually begin the search.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Peter Hillman

      Thank you, Lina ๐Ÿ™‚ I hope you find the perfect spot for your sunrises and sunsets. That are really something special, and quite magical ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

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