"Lofting high above the dark silhouette of the Eldorado Mountains in the foreground the sky radiates an energetic vermillion red, the result of early morning Alpenglow reflecting bright hues from over the horizon up onto the bottom of the Semi-transparent Altocumulus Clouds.
Alpenglow (from German: Alpenglühen) is an optical phenomenon that appears as a horizontal reddish glow near the horizon when clouds are lit by backscatter caused by the Sun being below the horizon. There is no direct path for the sunlight to reach the clouds so the light that reaches the clouds has been reflected off the airborne precipitation, ice crystals, and tiny particulates that are in the atmosphere.
This effect is fleeting, only lasting mere seconds and going through a myriad of beautiful color changes as the effect passes.
Zedekiah lensed this image just after taking off from the Boulder City Airport in Nevada on his way to explore the southern Mojave Desert. As he was turning back to the east to begin his cross-country journey colors suddenly began to splash this brilliant scene across the sky. It took a minute to get the camera set up as this was an unexpected treat so early in the flight and he was busy piloting "Bluebird" his bush plane, but once ready he lensed this vibrant image!" - Zedekiah
