Looking Up At Night — Watching the Clouds as a Winter Storm Rolls In

Summary

Kim Zuch captures the beauty of a winter storm at night through a series of phone photographs, reflecting on the interplay of light pollution, cloud formations, and the lunar glow in a remote campground setting.

Abstract

The website content details Kim Zuch's photographic exploration of a winter storm's approach during late-night hours. Over the course of a week, Zuch took advantage of working late to capture the storm's progression with a phone camera. The images depict the night sky over a campground, highlighting the effects of light pollution from nearby cities Reno and Carson City, Nevada, on the clouds and ambient light. Zuch's photographs showcase the stark beauty of bare trees against the cloudy sky, the dramatic appearance of the almost-full moon, and the contrast between the natural darkness and the reflected city lights. The article serves as Zuch's response to Anne Bonfert's "Looking Up" writing prompt, which encourages viewers to observe and describe the sky above them.

Opinions

Zuch finds beauty in the juxtaposition of natural and artificial light, particularly how city lights reflect off clouds.
The photographer appreciates the way light pollution highlights the silhouettes of hills and trees, enhancing the nocturnal landscape.
Zuch is captivated by the way the moonlight transforms the valley, creating deep shadows and a unique blue-white illumination.
The author expresses a preference for the interesting shapes of trees in winter, suggesting that their beauty is more pronounced without leaves.
Zuch's images and reflections convey a sense of wonder and appreciation for the night sky, even in the presence of human-made light interference.

Focusing on a cloudy night sky

Photo by Kim Zuch.

I spent a week working late into the night. There were a few nights we didn’t get home until midnight. I decided to take advantage of the time and take some photos after dark as a storm was rolling in.

These photos were all taken with my phone as we were putting things away each night after our Christmas program at work. Some of the clouds to the north and south were lit by light pollution from Reno and Carson City, Nevada.

The lights near the bottom of the first picture are from our campground and a small community on the north end of the park.

Photo by Kim Zuch.

This photo shows our close-up hills and light pollution from Carson City, to the south.

Light pollution doesn’t have a huge impact on our stargazing programs. The light reflects off the clouds, though, letting me see how much city light the hills block at night.

Photo by Kim Zuch.

A break in the clouds showed us the almost-full moon rising. On clear nights, the full moon lights up the whole valley. Shadows seem extra dark against the blue-white light.

Photo by Kim Zuch.

We don’t have many trees in the campground, but I had fun taking some pictures of the bare branches against the cloudy sky.

Photo by Kim Zuch.

I loved the way this huge cottonwood tree looked against the clouds. The tree is impressive when it has leaves and nesting birds in the summer, but I think its shape in the winter is more interesting.

This photo shows some light pollution from Reno, reflecting off the clouds on the north end of the valley.

Photo by Kim Zuch.

A shade canopy in the campground made another perfect “looking up” photo, so I couldn’t resist sharing it here.

This is my response to Anne Bonfert’s “Looking Up” writing prompt:

WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE

Looking Up At Night — Watching the Clouds as a Winter Storm Rolls In

Focusing on a cloudy night sky

Looking Up

Lift your head towards the sky and tell me what you see