Delta Lake State Park

The week was definitely a roller coaster ride as far as the weather was concerned. I can’t complain through when the final drop was a good one. Friday was another great day. Once again I was determined not to waste it by being a lump on the couch (well, any more than usual).

I was amazed at the number of cars in the parking lot at Delta Lake when I arrived for the sunset. Was I unaware of an event at the park? No, but a lot of people had the same idea as me.

Get out and enjoy the end of the day…

As I was on my way to the park the sun slid behind a few clouds and created a beautiful array of light streaking down from the sky. I might have pushed the pedal closer to the floor in an attempt to get to the park a little sooner. I was able to catch the very end of the show.

The clouds were moving in and the expected rain was approaching quickly. I walked the edge of the beach, weaving my way around all the people, looking for one more peek of the sun before the clouds fully dominated the sky.

The beach was crowded and noisy. I walked through the woods to the picnic area on the left. I was looking for a view through the trees but that didn’t materialize. I opted to climb down to the shore and grab a grand vista view of the lake with the clouds.

If you notice two objects in the water they appeared to be a couple of large branches from trees. After I snapped this image a few jet ski enthusiasts came flying past my location. I was a little worried about them hitting the floating debris. I have to admit though, they were quite loud, obnoxious and annoying, I might have thought it wouldn’t be a terribly bad thing if something caused them to not work any more…

Heading back to the beach I noticed a small opening in the clouds. I started looking for a view to highlight the color contrast between the clouds and the orange glow from the sun. I seem to fall back to using the trees on the point in my compositions.

My chances for one last peek of the sun were fading quickly. I was having difficulty deciding if what I was seeing in the clouds was rain or not. There were still a lot of people on the beach but I really did not want to get caught if it started to rain. If everyone else was going to be brave about the rain so could I.

I was determined to stay as the sky progressed from sunset into the blue hour but the more I looked at the clouds coming across the lake I was sure I would end up getting wet. One last image hoping to capture the rain in the clouds and then I would make my way back to the car.

Driving back home a few drops of rain hit the windshield. Did I make the right choice? It didn’t fully rain for quite a while after I got home. I bet if I stayed it would have rained sooner just to spite me… 🙂

One last word. I was processing these images this morning when I noticed the sky lighting up with the sunrise. Beautiful light, clouds to capture the colors and I swear I heard my name in the wind. Finishing this post early could wait. I threw the camera bag over my shoulder I drove off into the morning.

That adventure is for another post…