Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination

Typically, illumination would mean some sort of artificial light — street lights, car lights, neon lights.   But, since I’ve been at the beach this week, it is natural light that I have been drawn to.   Here are two sunsets, both well-suited for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge theme, Illumination.

This evening, as the sun was setting over a partly cloudy sky, some of the clouds were back-lit.  Not only were the clouds illuminated, but the refracted light also illuminated chairs left on the beach by weary sunbathers who had already left the sand:

Illuminated clouds; illuminated chairs

Early this week, on a similarly cloudy day, the rays of the sun for about an hour before sunset, streaked behind the clouds, sometimes sending rays towards the water; at other times skywards:

Sun Rays

Be sure to check out how others have interpreted this week’s theme.  Here are just a few of the participants:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination | Ese’s Voice
Weekly Photo Challenge: ILLUMINATION « eagerexplorer
Ibukota di Malam Hari dari Rooftop Pelangi | TraveLafazr
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination | Travel. Garden. Eat.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination | LooknWalk
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination – Joy and Woe
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination | Wind Against Current
Illuminated Mount Pico, Açores | Cardinal Guzman
weekly photo challenge: illumination « A Meditative Journey with Saldage
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination | Figments of a DuTchess