The Trees are Alive: Glowing Sunset in Boise

Camel's Back Park Part I: Watching the brushstrokes of a painting come to life.

One of the brightest golden hours ever as we witness the orange glow from the setting sun saturate the entire mountain leaving us with the last drops of daylight. 

The Mix: Palm Trees & Gradient Skies at Sunset

Huntington Garden Part VII: The radiant moon shines nearby as the sun completely disappears from view. 

The sky resembles a gradient background with the soft blue afternoon hues drifting further and further away, being replaced with muted pink and purple hues.

Blue Twilight: The Lighthouse by the Lake

Hefner Lake and Park Part V: Placid waters and soothing colors in the sky during the twilight hour.

We're all mesmerized by the beauty of the surrounding nature, watching the clear skies jump into all shades of colors until it transitions into muted tones before descending into dusk. 

Basked in Blue Light: Glowing Lighthouse at Twilight

Hefner Lake and Park Part IV: The lighthouse glows every other second into all the colors of the rainbow. 

Blue artificial lights captivate the scene, as the vibrant blue and orange skies of twilight dazzle in the back. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

Idyllic Blue Hour by the Lighthouse

Hefner Lake and Park Part III: Dark azure blue skies have taken over.

The blue lights radiating from the lighthouse splendidly complements the cool hues of the stratosphere. 

Pink Sunrises and Moon Views in Fairbanks

Bright, frosty, clear skies on a wintry day at sunrise. 

It's one of those mornings where you walk outside and feel the blistery cold but breathe the pleasantly fresh air while soaking up the views. 

Pink to Blue: Ethereal Moon and Stars Imagery

As always, I love Little Twin Stars and am obsessed with their pastel colors, gradient backgrounds, and celestial stars and moon artwork. I was inspired recently to create imagery around this. I made the moon the main focus point for this and sprinkled stars and sparkle effects throughout the background. 

In general, to keep images from looking too 2D or falling flat, I like to add in other effects to bring in some type of texture to the backgrounds, especially after adding in a gradient. For this piece, after adding in the pink to blue gradient in the background (with mixes of pastels and brights), I also used a couple special effects to include other types of patterns to it. 

Moon Imagery: Pastel Bubbles and Art Design

 

Pastel Bubbles Part III: Another version of these fabulous pastel bubbles, with a moon design in the middle. 

Moon imagery is always so magical, ethereal, and dreamy, no matter what the context is. 

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.

Dancing Dolphins, Shining Moon, and Sparkling Stars

Inspired by Little Twin Stars' pastel imagery and designs, I decided to use a similar background color--a mix of pink, purple and blue gradient--mixed in with moon and star elements. I added in some dolphins to this, along with water, houses, and flowers as a backdrop to create a fantasy-like reality of a city.

Cotton Candy Sky and Palm Tree Dreams

The twilight zone. As we wait for the sun to set, we looked to the opposite side at these palm trees and full moon. I decided to have a little fun with this photo by adding in pastel pink and blue splatters across the sky (to resemble cotton candy), mixing and blurring it with different saturation and hues.

Sitting On the Moon: Gaze Into the Horizon

Pastel Bubbles Part I: With the exciting Moon Festival and the Blood Moon spectacle behind us, I wanted to continue the theme by creating my own moon image: a soft, pastel version with transparent layers and shadows, with some added human aspect to it. I decided to add a mix of bubbles in all colors and sizes, a blend of noise, sharpness, and blur to create texture, and jewel-toned sunset gradient hues to enhance the vibrancy of the horizon.

Tranquil Moon and Garden Collage

Such a peaceful garden area in the middle of the city for some fresh air. I decided to create a collage with these snapshots and add the moon, stars, and clouds onto it. The pastel colors along with the soft imagery complements the harmonious feel of the water fountain, plants and stone steps.

There's a sense of calm by gazing at these light, delicate, earthly tones, a stark resemblance to the zen-ness of Japanese gardens.