#empireblufftrail

Continued Hunt for Green Flash

I saw that the sky was very clear on August 6th and so had to make another try to bag the ever elusive green flash. I drove over to Empire, Michigan, and then made a short jog down to the Empire Bluff Trail south of town. I got there with only about ten minutes to spare, took a few rushed shots of the Sleeping Bear Dune to the north and then focused on the setting sun.

It was so clear that it was difficult to look through the viewfinder—usually there's enough particulate matter in the atmosphere that by the time it gets down to the horizon one can stare directly at it with no damage to one's eyes. I'm always gripped when I can see sun spots—it's such a cool phenomenon that connects me to nature in a real way.

Once again I did not see a flash at this time of shooting, but enlarging and viewing the images later did show some green light separating from others. Apparently there are two types of green flash: the inferior mirage and the mock mirage. I think I've gotten just a hint of the former, but would like to bag the more dramatic latter. One can see what I'm talking about at this site.

I'll have to keep trying. In any case, it was a nice evening, a nice hike, and a beautiful end of the day. Upon walking out, I turned and took a shot of the trail just before it pops out of the woods onto the bluff.