Green flash at sunrise (w-580-28)

In gallery: Photos of the month (2004)
Related photos: Atmospheric optics Atmospheric refraction Green flash

It was a bit of a sacrifice to get out of bed at 4:45 in the morning and go up the Magdalena Mountains (in New Mexico, USA) to photograph the sunrise. But I was rewarded with the sight of a grossly distorted sun (due to different temperature layers in the atmosphere), and several small green flashes. The green is very difficult to photograph however, which is the reason it doesn't show up well on most photos. No photo can do justice in recording the brilliance and purity of the green flash as you would see it with the naked eye.

Photo taken on March 30, 2004 around 6:00 local time, from an elevation of about 9000 ft in the Magdalena Mountains in New Mexico, USA. Nikon FE with 1000mm f/10 telescopic lens with 2x teleconverter; exposure 1/1000 sec on Fuji Velvia 50.