I was shooting some low-light scenes under dark and variable clouds in the hills of Northwestern California.
As dusk fell, I came out of the western hills through a narrow creek mouth opening onto the Sacramento valley to the east.
I saw, suddenly, a brightly lit horizontal band of clouds away over across the valley to the east.
The sun, setting behind me, was shining through a narrow strip in the clouds behind me and bright-lighting a bank of clouds miles away to the east, near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
Part of that strip of light, in the general darkness of the clouds, looked as if it was lighted internally--as if the sun was actually setting in the east behind those clouds.
Through my 300mm zoomed lens, it appeared as if an eye in the sky was looking intently down onto the earth.
The first shot (below) is pretty much unadjusted from what I saw.
The brighter shot is dramatized a fair amount by enhancing contrast (using "Limits" and "Curves" in Affinity Photo).
Angky

[korokan]

It does look like a burning eye. Nice job with Affinity! use the same post processing..

[angkymac]

It does look like a burning eye. Nice job with Affinity! use the same post processing..

Thanks for your note!
Affinity has a lot more powerful features than the few I use, but these work really well for me.
Angky

[Sailor]

Fun shot, Angky! The sky certainly can be spooky at times.

Jer

[Shelly]

I was shooting some low-light scenes under dark and variable clouds in the hills of Northwestern California.
As dusk fell, I came out of the western hills through a narrow creek mouth opening onto the Sacramento valley to the east.
I saw, suddenly, a brightly lit horizontal band of clouds away over across the valley to the east.
The sun, setting behind me, was shining through a narrow strip in the clouds behind me and bright-lighting a bank of clouds miles away to the east, near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
Part of that strip of light, in the general darkness of the clouds, looked as if it was lighted internally--as if the sun was actually setting in the east behind those clouds.
Through my 300mm zoomed lens, it appeared as if an eye in the sky was looking intently down onto the earth.
The first shot (below) is pretty much unadjusted from what I saw.
The brighter shot is dramatized a fair amount by enhancing contrast (using "Limits" and "Curves" in Affinity Photo).
Angky

Wow! that is surely an eye in the sky....'I am watching you' Lovely enhancement. Well done,

[que es tu]

Very nice and a little creepy! It really does look like an eye! Nice capture!

[angkymac]

Fun shot, Angky! The sky certainly can be spooky at times.

Jer

Right, it was one of those surprises that sometimes come through a camera.
And it was soon there, and just as soon gone!
Glad my camera captured it even though I wasn't quite aware of what I was getting.
Thanks for your note.
Angky

---------- Post added 04-04-23 at 07:45 PM ----------

Wow! that is surely an eye in the sky....'I am watching you' Lovely enhancement. Well done,

Thank you.
I had to wonder if it was watching me, or watching the crazy goings-on that always seem to be happening south of where that eye was--looking directly toward Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area!
I appreciate your affirmation.
Angky.

---------- Post added 04-04-23 at 07:46 PM ----------

Very nice and a little creepy! It really does look like an eye! Nice capture!

An image like that tends to create mixed feelings in a person, doesn't it?
Thanks for your assessment.
Angky

[eaglem]

Well spotted and captured.

[angkymac]

Well spotted and captured.

Well, as it turned out, I didn't spot it at first. Just saw the bright clouds and grabbed the shot. Then, re-focusing, I saw it.
Sorta took me by surprise.
Thanks for your note!
Angky

[MikeNArk]

I missed this one while I was out of town. That was a good catch and the processing really brightened that eye in the sky. It's amazing what nature provides that many times goes unnoticed.

[ToddK]

Very cool shot Ankgy! It is amazing what light does with clouds, not to mention our imaginations.

[angkymac]

I missed this one while I was out of town. That was a good catch and the processing really brightened that eye in the sky. It's amazing what nature provides that many times goes unnoticed.

What you say about nature and humans certainly is true!
I often find myself saddened by that fact.
In my own personal case, I find that i disregard what God has provided for me and then I complain that what I didn't get wasn't good enough!
What is wrong!
But anyway, I was really glad to be surprised by that interesting visual up in the sky--when once I noticed it!
I guess you were out of town with volleyball. I hope that is something that you are getting good vibes from with your grand-littlle-ones.
Angky

---------- Post added 04-05-23 at 05:28 PM ----------

Very cool shot Ankgy! It is amazing what light does with clouds, not to mention our imaginations.

Right, Todd, the imagination is the most 'fantastical' part of the matter.
I guess that is what actually makes photography work in the first place--we can't even see a 3-D image in a 2-D photo unless we imagine it!
A lot of interesting fun at times.
Angky.