(Originally posted on LiveJournal)
It’s been raining here in Los Angeles the last two days, off and on. Today, there was even a bit of thunder (and lightning, I assume) during the daytime. Between that and the damp chill, it was definitely a day to stay inside.
However, I did need to get some groceries at some point. So, when late in the afternoon there seemed to be a break in the torrents, I went out to drive to the grocery.
I stepped out the back door of the building, headed toward my car. This has me facing east. The sun had not set yet, so it was still shining a good deal of light. And to the east there was obviously still some rain falling and moisture from the low clouds. The sun was hitting all those air-borne prisms at the perfect angle. The result was the most perfect rainbow I have seen in a long time. Full spectrum of colors, and a complete arch across the east.
I didn’t capture a great image, so this is a picture of a generic rainbow over LA
I stood there staring at it a couple of minutes, surprised by the perfection of it (even when seen through the annoyance of urban power lines). It pulled a spontaneous smile of delight from me.
It didn’t last long, of course. The sun was shifting downward, and so the vivid strength of the colors melted away. I did try taking a picture of it with my cell phone camera, but although I have not transfered it to my computer yet, I don’t think it really captured more than a streak of light arching across the sky. But it was clearly imprinted on my brain, keyed with the memory of the sudden delight.
Comments
sartorias – Feb. 10th, 2010
Oh how I love those rainbows!
scribblerworks – Feb. 10th, 2010
A friend of mine got about 17 seconds of video of it, which he posted on his Facebook page. Not sure I can link to it.
But it really was gorgeous. And one of those wonderful serendipities that I happened to step outside at just the right moment to see it in its full brightness.
auriaephiala – Feb. 11th, 2010
It is so wonderful when you get a perfect rainbow. Being able to see the entire spectrum, from violet/indigo to red, is amazing.
My all-time favourite was a full double rainbow, spread above a local farm.
