Tuesday, I took photos in Somers between rain squalls. Dark clouds on the east side of the valley were offset by blue sky and puffy white clouds on the west side. The air was crystal clear. The afternoon sun through the clouds and the clear air with the dark backdrop to the east made the colors of everything their most vivid.

In comments for that post, reader and blog bud Buck (Exile in Portales) asked about the altitude here. It is just under 3000 feet on the valley floor/lake level where the Tuesday photos were taken (per NOAA). My house is about 200 foot higher (per my GPS). Buck lives in New Mexico, home to many artists who comment on the New Mexico light. Buck explained his question with a theory that altitude contributes to an artistic light.

I certainly believe altitude has something to do with quality of light. I think humidity plays a roll as well. On Tuesday and again today with these photos, the clouds also come into play. The sun in today’s photos is again at an angle opposite the dark clouds. There is that light that happens when bright sunlight has dark clouds as a backdrop.

Where is our physics person???

Whatever the explanation, I love light like this. The light, the colors, the clouds rolling, the wind blowing… the uncertainty…intriguing.