Crazy sunset colors at Iowa wind farm

[John Hamilton]

Wind Farm Sunset by johnchamilton, on Flickr

We saw the most amazing sunset last weekend, driving home to the Twin Cities from my mom's house in central Iowa. This is a wind farm visible along I-35 near Clear Lake, IA. In 2010, wind power accounted for about 15 percent of electricity generated in Iowa.

I didn't do too much Photoshop work on this frame.  That riot of color is pretty much how I found it. A thunderstorm had just passed by, with skies clearing in the west, which accounted for the light show. I shot at a shutter speed of about half a second to give the windmill blades a little motion blur.  In Photoshop, I used Nic Dfine to dampen the noise a bit, plus a little sharpening. Enjoy!

[JennaAnderson]

Whoa - I know the "Red at night..." but purple at night?

Beautiful picture! Reminds me of my new favorite word - empurpled.

~ Jenna

[John Hamilton]

Whoa - I know the "Red at night..." but purple at night?

Beautiful picture! Reminds me of my new favorite word - empurpled.

~ Jenna

Thanks, Jenna.  Those were the craziest sunset colors ever.  "Empurpled"... I like it! 

[MeiLinMiranda]

Wow! I have seen skies that color but not in a long while. Thanks for sharing.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

When in Iowa or elsewhere in the Midwest, I'd rather see purple sky than green sky.

(For some reason, when conditions are right, the really severe thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes seem to have a tendency to add a green cast to the lighting.)