A Sky Ablaze
By Miles ·
Layers of fiery orange, scarlet and amber clouds fill the evening sky above a dark silhouette of trees near Okehampton, Devon.
It hardly looked like an ordinary June evening. The entire sky seems to be on fire, with great sweeping bands of orange, red and amber stretching from one side of the horizon to the other.
The setting sun has disappeared behind the distant trees, but its light continues to illuminate the clouds from below. Darker layers drift across the brilliant colours, creating folds and ripples that give the sky an almost painted appearance.
Along the bottom of the photograph, the countryside has become little more than a black silhouette. The trees are just recognisable against the glowing horizon, their shapes providing a simple contrast to the extraordinary spectacle above.
What caught my attention was the sheer intensity of the colour. There was no need for a dramatic landscape or an interesting foreground. The sky was doing quite enough on its own.
One of the pleasures of watching a sunset is never knowing quite what might happen next. The light can fade quietly into the evening, or, as it did here, leave the sky burning with colour long after the sun itself has disappeared.
Not a bad way to end a summer's day!