A Wild Vista

Most of us that spend a lot of our leisure time in the outdoors end up developing wide-ranging interests that complement our chosen activity. Many become adept at identifying the resident flora and fauna, perhaps even specialising in particular taxa. Other rich seams of interest include geology, industrial archeology and human history in the landscape, and photography.

In addition to landscape photography, I’m particularly interested in meteorology, and within that vast field, atmospheric optics. A well known (though comparatively rare) effect, is the Brocken Spectre, and associated glory. I’ve been lucky enough to see Brocken Spectres on three or four occasions, though have yet to get a half-decent photograph.

The range of optical phenomena visible in the atmosphere over time is huge. From the common (no nonetheless beautiful) fiery sunset, through rainbows and haloes, to rarities such as noctilucent clouds, and the fleeting green flash — there’s a great deal to learn about and subsequently observe.

To anyone with even a passing interest in this area, I can heartily recommend M. Minnaert’s “Light and Color in the Outdoors” (Amazon link). This classic text explaining nature’s multifarious optical displays isn’t always easy going, but is continually interesting, well illustrated throughout with line drawings, and supplemented by some stunning colour photographs.

Online, the best resource I’ve found is Atmospheric Optics at http://www.atoptics.co.uk/. There are many other sites on the subject available, often illustrated with spectacular photography.

To finish this post, here’s a photo of a fairly common phenomenon — a sun dog (also called a “mock sun”, or, technically, a parhelion).

Parhelion or sun dog, South East Essex, UK.

I reckon on seeing five or six of these a year, though they’re undoubtedly visible much more frequently, if only we’d notice!

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