Sun Dog

A sun dog is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates patches of light about 22° to the side of the sun.  Usually we see them on cold clear mornings here in the Bear Lake Valley, but this one showed up in the middle of a misty afternoon.

Suns dogs, or parhelia, are created by sunlight refracting through icy clouds of hexagonal crystals.  I was out looking for photo opportunities with Bruce Grayum when we saw this one from a back road near Georgetown, Idaho.  The cows didn’t seem impressed by the huge apparition in the sky near their pasture, but they did provide scale to show the size the sun dog.

It was a cold day, 9° F as we continued to explore.  We stopped at the bridge over the Bear River on the Nounan road and saw the sun dog again, but this time no clear sky was visible at all.  I liked the reflected light in the river.
Sometimes the arcs of light form a complete halo around the sun, and some have faint rainbows of color like this one.  Photographing them can be tricky because the camera must be pointed directly at the sun.  A clean lens is needed to prevent flares, and there is danger of getting a burned retina.  If your camera has it, live view might be a good option.

Our last stop was along Creamery Lane between Georgetown and Nounan where the sun dog appeared in icy mist over a winter landscape of drifts and sagebrush.  Shooting into the sun causes the lens to stop down, darkening the photo, but if the exposure is lengthened, the sun dog seems to blend with the sky and disappear.  I think the darkened exposure presents an other-worldly appearance anyway.

Why are they called “sun dogs”?  No one knows for sure, but the term has been around since the 1600’s and the origin seems to be lost in time.  Some say it is because the "dogs" follow the sun around.

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Shoshone Falls, Idaho

The Niagara of the West.  That’s  one name for Shoshone Falls, but Niagara Falls is “just” 167 feet high, and Shoshone Falls is 212 feet high, and 900 feet across.  Shoshone Falls is sort of a seasonal waterfall on the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho.  In the summer it usually has a vastly reduced flow because water upstream is diverted for irrigation, but in the spring it can be booming after a wet winter.  This year we had a huge snow pack, and the falls are roaring.

We visited the falls on a very windy day, and the spray was soaking the observation area of the beautiful city park.  Photography from the nearest observation areas was nearly impossible because the lens was wet as soon as the cover was removed, so this photo was taken a bit further away.  Even so, I had to wait for a moment when the mist was at a minimum and hurry to take the picture.

The mist and bright sun combined for wonderful rainbows.

The rainbow framed the Snake River Canyon when Linda and I returned the following morning.  We hoped that there would be less wind, therefore less mist, and drier conditions for photography.  Wrong, but at least we saw the rainbow from a different angle because we were so much earlier in the day.

If anything, the wind was worse, and instead of the observation area being soaked, the entire city park was drenched.   The best we could do was remove the lens cover, take a quick shot or two, and slap the cover back on.  Then find someplace dry to clean the lens.  Then try again. 

 Even seen through the mist, the power of these magnificent falls was astonishing.  If you go, try to be there between April and July during a wet year.

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