We just lately visited the Salt Flats of Uyuni in southwest Bolivia for the fourth time, having beforehand visited in 2015, 2017, and 2018. What a giant shock! We weren’t anticipating to see the colours that we did.
Usually, the blue hour is blue, proper? However not this time. It was purple with some yellow proper over the horizon, after which it was turning extra pinkish. A loopy coloration present!
A Volcanic Eruption?
We needed to know what it was about. What was making these skies? As a result of… it was arduous to consider, proper? So we regarded for a scientific clarification of what causes a pink or purple sky. And that is what we discovered: a pink sky is brought on when mixing the purple a part of the spectrum of sunshine with extra white elements. This occurs when there are extra aerosols and fantastic particles within the air to scatter and replicate the daylight spectrum.
That’s nice. However then we have been questioning what was the reason for these particles that we have been seeing. After asking on Instagram and Fb, we obtained our reply!
The sky colours are unbelievable. They will be the impact of the Tongan volcanic eruption from final 12 months as we’ve had the identical at sundown many instances! (in New Zealand) —@milseynz
Volcanic ash circling the southern hemisphere more than likely, from an eruption over a 12 months in the past in Tonga. We see it most nights in Australia —@Stephen Muller
And that was it!
This caught us unexpectedly as a result of we’re from Canada within the Northern Hemisphere, and we didn’t hear about that volcanic eruption. So we regarded it up, and right here’s what we discovered: “On January 15, 2022, there was a volcanic eruption in Tonga. It’s an undersea volcano that erupted in a large explosion, most likely essentially the most violent in a long time. It triggered tsunami waves and ash falls. When it erupted, a cloud of gasoline, water, and ash was ejected one thing like 57 kilometers into the ambiance.
So these are our particles. They’ve been principally circulating across the Southern Hemisphere for over a 12 months now, and it may final for just a few extra months. It should slowly fade out because the sky clears up.
Concerning the Salt Flats of Uyuni
The Uyuni Salt Flats, also called Salar de Uyuni, are one of many world’s most breathtaking pure wonders and the most important salt flat on Earth. Positioned in southwest Bolivia, this huge expanse of salt covers an space of over 10,000 sq. kilometers (3,900 sq. miles) and is nestled inside the Altiplano, a excessive plateau of the Andes Mountains.
The salt flats have been shaped because of prehistoric lakes that dried up, forsaking a surreal, nearly completely flat floor composed primarily of salt and minerals. In the course of the moist season (from November to March), a skinny layer of water covers the salt flats, creating a large, mirror-like reflection of the sky, making it seem as in case you are strolling on an infinite, pristine, white floor. This distinctive pure phenomenon attracts photographers, vacationers, and adventurers from around the globe.
The Uyuni Salt Flats will not be solely identified for his or her beautiful visible attraction but in addition for his or her huge lithium reserves, that are essential for the manufacturing of batteries utilized in electrical autos and different trendy applied sciences. The area can be dwelling to distinctive natural world, together with flamingos and different hen species, which may be discovered within the surrounding lakes and wetlands.
Concerning the Method
If you’re new to this, right here’s a fast recap about this light-painting method: I’m going behind Kim Henry with my plastic tube and my flashlight. Then she holds the pose for a second whereas I paint behind her. I’m not seen as a result of I’m well-aligned behind Kim. (I clarify all the things intimately on lightpaintingtubes.com.)
9 Photographs From 9 Completely different Nights
We spent 19 nights this 12 months within the Salt Flats of Uyuni, however not all nights have been purple/pink. These 9 pictures are from 9 totally different nights. The publicity time ranges between 1 and eight seconds. The white steadiness was the toughest factor to handle as the colours have been simply too arduous to consider. However in the long run, it was fairly near my typical workflow, beginning at 5200k in the beginning of the blue hour (reddish) and ending at 3200k nearing the tip of the blue hour (pinkish).
Thanks for studying, and I hope you loved the photos!
Concerning the artists: Eric Paré has constructed a life-style combining his ardour for images, journey, and light-painting. Touring the world together with his light-painting tubes, he mixes light-painting and panorama images in unbelievable places, sharing each single tip in regards to the strategies alongside the way in which. When he’s not on the street, you will discover him doing studio images in Montréal the place he performs light-painting utilizing 176 DSLR on a full 360-degree digital camera array. Inside the final years, he and his artistic companion Kim Henry perfected the tube light-painting method and made it extensively accessible for inexperienced persons whereas at all times including new methods to create varied visuals. Through the use of a single tube, a flashlight, and a feather, he reveals that simplicity is usually the important thing, and he retains bringing individuals collectively as a part of the tube tribe.
Kim Henry is knowledgeable up to date dancer and performer fascinated with motion, nature, and human beings. Her nice curiosity in altered states of consciousness resembling hypnosis, meditation, and stream state conjures up her to combine these experiences into her creative apply & creations. Versatile and curious, she invests her time and power in tasks that permit her to push her limits with rigor, sensitivity, and playfulness. As a contract artist, she took half in additional than 70 dance and bodily theater tasks since 2011.
