| San Diego Pictures 0777-274-0777 An online outlet for San Diego Photos and Prints |
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Green Flash Pictures - Green Flash Photos
Green Flash Poster! Panoramic poster-style photographic print of a "Green Flash" that appeared at the top of the setting sun on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2007.
Purchase at California Posters The "COPYRIGHTED" watermark will not appear on your poster. Panoramic poster-style print of a "double green flash" that occured at Mission Beach, California.
Purchase at California Posters The "COPYRIGHTED" watermark will not appear on your poster. Green Flash photography by Oscar G Medina |
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Welcome to my green flash photos page. Many have heard of the Green Flash but only the persistent and sometimes lucky have actually seen a green flash of the sun. I've seen many discussions on news groups about whether green flashes are just a hoax perpetrated on the innocent but let me assure you they do exist.
Over the past few years I've managed to photograph several green flashes and have had the good fortune of witnessing several more. Most of these photographs were taken from a hill overlooking Pacific Beach, a community of San Diego, California. A few of green flash photographs are available for purchase as fine art prints at: San Diego Artists |
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There are many explanations for what creates a green flash and if you are interested a great place to start is at Andrew Young's Green Flash page. Mr. Young is a professor at San Diego State University and is considered an authority on the subject. Mr. Young has published several papers about the green flash phenomena and illusions that can simulate the green flash.
When thermal inversion layers are present, the layers will often create distortions in the setting sun. When this occurs, it is possible to see several green flashes during one sunset. This image and the next were taken during the same sunset. |
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All of these photographs are available for purchase as individual photographic prints. Click on any image to visit my online store.
These photographs have been cropped to better display the flash on your computer. The prints you purchase will have the entire frame displayed. If you'd like to license one of these photographs to use on your website please contact me at 0777.274.0777. Enjoy your visit. Oscar Medina |
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Green Flash Links An Introduction to Green Flashes Note to Webmasters: Feel free to link to this web site's URL but refrain from direct linking to any of the images. That is bandwidth theft. |
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This green flash occurred on October 6th, 2002 and was one of the most spectacular green flashes I've ever seen.
It lasted almost two seconds and is an "inferior mirage" type of flash. Close examination of the flash shows it is floating slightly above the horizon line. It appeared like a green emerald, lit from within, sitting on the horizon. A Santa Ana condition contributed to creating perfect weather conditions for a green flash to occur. This print is available for purchase at San Diego Artists. |
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This photograph was taken on January 5th, 2003 from a vantage point overlooking Pacific Beach, California and the Pacific Ocean.
The distortion in the setting sun reminds me of the flying saucer UFOs that appear in a lot of Science Fiction movies. |
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This flash had a most unusual color. The center of the flash is green, but the edges of the flash are bluish in color. I call this a "blue green" flash.
Apparently this particular flash was witnessed by many San Diegan's. I received several phone calls from those that saw the flash and were wondering if I managed to photograph it. |
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This shot of the green flash was taken on October 30th. The green flash is just beginning. The center of the last sliver of the setting sun is still yellow but both edges have turned green. Most of the green flashes I've seen begin at the outer edges of the setting sun and then quickly move towards the center.
There was a very thin cloud layer the sun was passing through. I took the photograph from a hill overlooking Pacific Beach, California. |
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Another perfect day for the green flash to occur. Calm winds and clear air with just a hint of haze. The air was very calm which created slight thermal inversions that slightly distorted the setting sun and allowed small segments of the sun to pinch off near the top, rapidly shrink in size and vanish. Each of the pinched off segments turned green for about one second.
I saw four flashes on this date and photographed three. This was the best of the three. |
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A beautiful green flash floating just above the Pacific Ocean horizon line. Crisp, cool weather brought clear skies with whispy clouds. Fortunately, they didn't obscure the horizon.
This flash was more of a yellow-green flash. |
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A cold snap of the last few days has created the ideal conditions for seeing a green flash. Each day as we head towards the winter solstice, the sun edges a bit further south as you can see by comparing this picture with the next. They were taken exactly one day apart.
The green flash was brillant green, like an emerald lit from within resting on the ocean horizon. |
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Another perfect green flash. This one lasted for nearly three seconds. I was able to capture three frames with the flash in various stages. This center frame turned out the best.
The dot just to right of the green flash is a fishing boat on the horizon. Notice that the flash appears just slightly more to the left than the flash in the photo just above this one. Due to the tilt of the earth, the sun has an apparent motion that moves north and south along the horizon between the summer and winter solstices. The sun will continue moving south until around December 21st when it will begin moving north again. Today's photo is brighter due to my setting my camera for a wider aperature (1/2 f stop for you photographers out there). |
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This spectacular green flash occurred on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2007.
Mild Santa Ana conditions contributed to clear dry air and also created mild thermal inversions at sunset. When inversion layers are present you can see the effect as each layer distorts the edge of the setting sun. As the sun sets, each layer "pinches" off at the top and shrinks. Just as each section disappears a green flash will often appear. During these types of conditions, several green flashes are possible, each lasting one to two seconds. This green flash is available as a poster-style print at: California Poster |
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