Scott Caldwell captured a remarkable image at the intersection of highways 69 and 56 in his home town of Bells, Texas. In this scene, natural spectacle frames human-made structures, yet neither one overwhelms the other.
The clouds are altocumulus — that distinctive mackerel or “buttermilk” pattern where the clouds break into hundreds of small rounded puffs spread across the entire dome of the sky. It’s relatively rare to see them this uniformly distributed and this well-defined.
The color story is remarkably complex, with four or five distinct zones stacked on top of each other. At the horizon, an intense molten gold and orange gives way to amber, then dusty rose, then soft lavender-gray, and finally deep blue at the top of the frame.
What makes the image particularly beautiful is the interplay between the cloud pattern and the color gradient. The same cloud formation looks gold near the horizon and blue-gray overhead because it’s catching completely different light depending on its position in the sky — the clouds themselves becoming a canvas that reveals the full spectrum of the sunset.
“…ordinary things in plain sight…that people often don’t take the time to notice”
Be sure to see Scott’s other Earth Day Gallery entries:
Artist’s Notes
A lot of my favorite photos are ordinary things in plain sight but that people often don’t take the time to notice. I like to slow down and look — really look — for the beauty in the world around us.
Have always loved photography and nature — and love being able to combine the two.
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