Wave-rippled Glitter Path

June 01, 2011

VirginiaGlitterPathP4300098 (2)

Photographer: John Adam
Summary Author: John Adam

A golden glitter path has its linear form furrowed by the waves emanating from a passing speedboat. As the waves expand and arc out, the reflection sites change and a previously undisturbed cylinder of Sun is restructured and distorted. A glitter path is made up of a myriad of glints; tiny, almost point-like transient reflections of the Sun from suitably placed wavelets on the surface of the water. The shape and angular extent of a glitter path is determined by the solar elevation, the distribution and size of the waves and the position of the observer. So they can, and do, vary enormously from place to place and hour to hour. This photograph was taken in Sandbridge, Virginia on the evening of April 30, 2011.

Photo Details: Camera: Olympus SP570UZ; Focal Length: 48.0mm; Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0016 s (1/640); ISO equiv: 64.

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