How beautiful to sight those beams of morning play

Don’t you just love seeing heavenly beams of sunlight.

I started taking photos of them when I was in South Africa recently and have not stopped snapping shots whenever I see them.

The beams always remind me of evocative Turner skies or the swirling spiritual skies of El Greco.

But I also always think of these wonderful words by Housman when I see them.

How clear, how lovely bright,
How beautiful to sight
Those beams of morning play;
How heaven laughs out with glee
Where, like a bird set free,
Up from the eastern sea
Soars the delightful day

I guess you need a sky full of brooding, moisture-ladened clouds to achieve the right effect. The sunbeams need to break through gaps in the clouds in long, streaking lines in order to create dramatic contrast.

You’ll notice that in all of my photos here, there are no animals or people.

But I like to imagine creatures on the ground, somewhere in the far distance, looking up or holding up their hands to catch the beams and bask in the soft, streaming rays of light.

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