We were at Yosemite this week for a few days for our annual trip.  This photograph of Half Dome was taken at sunset on Monday, July 17, 2017.  During the day we watched as the skies gradually increased in smokiness.  By around 7 pm, the sky was almost white from the fire’s smoke.

When there is smoke from a wild fire in the sky, then it acts like a filter to create an orange/red sunlight during sunset.  I’ve photograph sunset photographs from this location previous years, and the setting sun is a combination of pink, yellow and orange on Half Dome.  But this year, the setting sunlight was more deeper orange in color due to the smoke from the wild fire.  We gathered with our friends – Jenny and Alan who discovered this “secret” spot  –  to watch the sunset at Half Dome and constantly shot many photographs.  We shared the serene sunset with a family who also enjoyed their cup of noodles by the river.  It was a bittersweet sunset – beautiful and also sad due to the intense fire burning nearby.

As always, these are “True Colors” from this sunset, and I did not alter the photograph using any software.

We are praying that this fire will be put out sooner than the projected time in the news, and no one will be hurt from the Detwiler Fire.