When Twilight Appears: Shining Lights in Sydney

The city lights come alive. The sky darkens and gets bluer, losing its brightness and natural source of light.

The artificial lights glow up the city, the parks, and the buildings bringing a whole new energy into night.

Shine Bright: Illuminated Bridge + Walkway in Downtown

Skydance Bridge Part II: Shining bright on a Tuesday twilight night.

This stunning scissor-like sculpture illuminates the walkway on the pedestrian bridge, high above the freeway and away from the sparkling skyscrapers in downtown. 

Skydance Bridge at Scissortail Park: Cutting-Edge Designs

Skydance Bridge Part I: Just keep on dancing and glowing. 

This one-of-a-kind art sculpture sits on top of a pedestrian bridge and can be seen on the freeway right below! An abstract creation that resembles a pair of scissors with a cool, cutting-edge look, adding to Oklahoma City's spectacular art scene. 

The vibrant orange color on this sculpture also gives striking resemblances to Tokyo Tower's orange-colored lights at night. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

The Rainbow Shines: Laser Beam of Lights in the City

Vibrant lights in rainbow shades shine through all of Market St, celebrating Pride. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

Illuminations at Night: Neon Splashes of Light

Can't help but admire this marvelous lights event in downtown San Francisco, with illuminating lights shining bright across numerous famous buildings in the city. 

Each building features striking digital art ranging from 5 to 10 minutes long from a diverse range of artists. I particularly loved this one at the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange building. Saturated colors in a fun gradient and sparkling background shine across all the columns and exteriors, ranging from turquoise, magenta, and midnight blue shades, creating a truly transcendent experience.

The Tower Bridge's Glow at Sunset

From daylight to sunset to twilight, it's mesmerizing watching the colors of the Tower Bridge change based on where the sun is at. From cloudless skies to cloud-covered skies during a 7 hour period...it was quite the wild ride. 

Blue-Green Snowflakes and Sparkles Imagery

 'Tis the season! 

I decided to create a snowflakes design by combining a range of snowflakes, adding extra sparkles, diamond effects, and extra glow to a blue-green gradient background to jumpstart the holiday month. 

Above in the Distance: Sunset over the Mountains

Red Butte Garden Part III: High above in the mountains on the other side, you can see an epic view of the Salt Lake City area, from mountains to flowers to city life and more. The super clear skies, bright orange glow, and the peaceful beauty all around made this one of the calmest, coolest sunsets ever on a sweltering day.

Golden Hour at Red Butte Garden

Red Butte Garden Part II: I just love this orange glow on the mountains as the sun begins to set during the magnificently breathtaking golden hour. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

That Sunset Glow: Colorful Orange Mountains

Red Butte Garden Part I: As the sun moves lower and lower into the sky, the stunning golden hour sunlight hits right at the mountains, casting the coolest orange glow ever.

The Golden Cacti at the Desert Garden

Huntington Garden Part VI: It's always so extraordinary how everything looks so different based on the time of day and where the light hits. 

It was a sweltering day in Los Angeles and the Desert Garden didn't offer much shade until the sun started setting. During the golden hour, the lowering sun casted a striking golden glow onto the cacti outside, creating a pretty cool magical vibe. 

Pastel Watermelon Skies: Palm Trees Glow Effect

So many carefree, chill palm trees all over the beach in Southern California. 

I decided to modify this picture a bit (taken during sunset) by altering the hues for a full contrast effect. I like how this gives off a nice pastel watermelon vibe, with blends of orange-pink and glow-in-the-dark green colors. 

State of California: Abstract Nature and Art Garden

The seemingly effortless garden that has so many meanings. 

Meant to resemble the State of California, the Noguchi Garden provides a welcome escape for locals and tourists alike. This compact, flowing, minimalist garden looks especially zen in photos and gives off an abstract look and feel, letting the viewers interpret the designs themselves.

The afternoon glow created extra vibrant, golden lighting at the top, cutting into the pyramid and offering the perfect contrast. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

Glow in the Dark: Sandy Mountains in Nature

A perfect capture of the surrounding sandy dunes and greenery at the beach. 

I really liked how this image looked and was amazed by the texture and the variety of hues within all the green--so I decided to alter the image a bit giving it a more green-blue glow and adding some light purple colors to the sky. It has this nice glow in the dark look and feel while still letting the specific parts of the mountain park stand out on its own. 

Glowing Gold Stars and Sparkle Gradient Imagery

I'm constantly getting inspired by cool magazine layouts and designs and decided to create a dark pink and purple gradient background piece filled with glowing gold stars all around (as seen from one of my favorite mags)! I added in some sparkle effects to really let the stars shine.

The Contrast of the Sunset Glow and Skyscraper Lights

It's always amazing witnessing the sun slowly set--watching the natural light disappear and seeing darkness gradually appear...with the skyscrapers lighting up with artificial lights, getting brighter and bolder as the sky continues to darken. Seeing the contrast between daylight and nightfall is always spectacular.

Featured on Flickr's Explore.

Navy Pier's Refreshing Night Lights and Skyscrapers

Another chilly night in the city. A walk around Navy Pier offered some of the best views of the city with glimmering lights of the skyline, a bright, full moon, shining trees and clear skies.

The Magic Hour at San Francisco's Bay Bridge

A shocking yet tranquil yellow-orange sunset by the Bay Bridge. I loved the soft glow of this and the effects the color of the sky has on the bridge and the water. I decided to add a couple blur circle designs to elevate the magical feel of the photo.

Glimmering Green-Blue Sparkles and Enchanted Tree Imagery

Conservatory of Flowers Night Bloom Part I: Enchanting colors.

Went to Conservatory of Flower's Night Bloom event and it was spectacular seeing all of the beautiful plants in an entirely different light. Set with colorful lights all over the conservatory, rooms with wide-ranging temperatures, and calming, enchanting music playing in the background, we felt like we were in a whole new world with a new perspective on...everything.

I loved the effects in the various rooms and decided to lighten this image a little more, enhancing the glow and adding a soft mixture of pastel blue-green sparkles sprinkled throughout the backdrop for a more otherworldly, mystical feel.

The Silent Night: Mystical Garden and Bridge Imagery

For this specific piece, I wanted to use the same image as a previous fireflies creation. I wanted it to have a simple, zen-like effect but with the same type of enchanting colors and scene. To do this, I removed the fireflies, added in high contrast and saturation to deepen the green tones, and sharpened the photo to focus more on the details of the garden. I also added in a pastel gradient border to give it a sweet, slightly less serious edge.