I’ve been looking for The Green Flash for years and tonight I actually saw it under most unusual circumstances! No, this isn’t a picture of it. This photo is a sunset I shot earlier this week and played with the color to simulate the green of the Flash!
I’ve read that Hawaii is the best place to see a Green Flash, a phenomenon in which part of the sun is observed to suddenly and briefly change color due to refraction which bends the light. It occurs more often at sunset, but sometimes at sunrise. Well , I just spent 10 days in Hawaii and never saw it. Not for lack of trying either. But I guess today was my lucky day because I was standing inside a building on the second floor near a window, about ½ mile from the beach with a clear view of the horizon and the ocean. As I noticed the sun setting, I realized the horizon was completely clear- no clouds- and said out loud, “I’m going to see the Green Flash”. Just then, the sun dipped and OMG, I saw the Green Flash! It appeared as a small, brilliant chartreuse colored disc for about 1 second after the sun disappeared. A blip and then GONE!
The other people in the room weren’t close to the window and missed the whole thing. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Here’s the weird part – at the time, I happened to be standing in a camera store, surrounded by dozens of high end cameras – all in locked glass cases-not in my hand- so Yes, I witnessed this maybe once in a lifetime event but failed to capture an image of it. The morale of the story is: Relish It, whatever It is, because it’s really only for the blink of an eye!
Congratulations, Elizabeth! A friend who spent many summers in Hawaii said she saw it so rarely that she wondered if she were imagining it. I think it's much more important to have seen it than to have recorded it. Some things are better left to personal experience. I'm happy for you.
Wow...this is truly beautiful and your story is amazing as well. I have never heard of the green flash but will be looking for it ...when I am in place that would have it. Didn't see it when I was in Hawaii either. So happy that your were able to experience it ... it is a picture in your mind forever and thank you for sharing this image with us!
Beautiful shot and story....love the way you processed your photo to recall the green flash....I have seen it a few times down here while watching the sun set, but it truly is only for a fleeting moment, and hard to capture! Saw the northern lights one night coming back from Butchard gardens in Victoria while waiting for the bus after watching the fireworks....yep, no camera, no setup, just the memory of it!
@panthora I can relate. We saw the aurora from the deck of a ship in Alaska- no camera! But those experiences are profound - permanently emblazened in your mind's eye!
great shot and story! as a psychiatrist I worry hearing you talk about seeing he Green Flash which nobody else saw - how often do you see it Elisabeth ;-p hehehe (joking of course :))
@jpgiorgio LOL! You are funny! I really saw the Green Flash-never saw it before btw! )But it looked exactly like photos I looked up afterwards on the Intternet.
i can relate to this missed opportunities, elizabeth. most times i am just in awe and taking in the sight before i'd wake up to my senses to take a picture. but there are things that need no recording. you saw it and you're lucky to have seen it. maybe you'll see it again, who knows. the processing here is gorgeous!
February 24th, 2014
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Beautiful shot and story....love the way you processed your photo to recall the green flash....I have seen it a few times down here while watching the sun set, but it truly is only for a fleeting moment, and hard to capture! Saw the northern lights one night coming back from Butchard gardens in Victoria while waiting for the bus after watching the fireworks....yep, no camera, no setup, just the memory of it!