I've included some shots from the afterglow all the way through the twilight's last gleaming. I shot these on the evening of December 21, 2019. The sunset started out looking like it would have potential, then the sky turned all blue for some time, then suddenly - almost 20 minutes after the sun had set - some orange/pink/red hues came in from the north and worked their way south. Shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens.
Bioluminescent red tide and beavertail cactus with decaying buds during San Diego County's first red tide of 2019. I shot this near Torrey Pines State Beach in the wee hours of the morning on May 31, 2019. Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 13 sec f/5 ISO 1250 40mm. Red tides, which often contain harmful algal blooms (HABs), are caused by chemical reactions that occur between algae and other substances. Red by day, blue by night, this colorful ocean phenomenon is a relatively rare natural occurrence that has spawned a number of imitations in movies and literature, the most recent example being a rather striking scene in the visually-driven movie Life of Pi. Bioluminescent algae blooms (like the ever-popular dinoflagellate marine algae called Sea Sparkle) are most frequently observed away from shorelines. Though beautiful in the dead of night, during the day these blooming phytoplankton are less than stunning. They often turn ocean water red and murky, and emit a distasteful smell of decay that comes from the algae starving the water of oxygen.
