Dayton Skyline at Sunset

The Story:        This colorful sunset over the Dayton skyline occurred after one of 2019’s bomb cyclones. The associated cold front passage occurred at sunset, where its cold, clear air drove away thick clouds. The clear air to the west allowed the setting sun to paint the underside of the existing clouds in warm colors as the front’s winds gave the Great Miami River an interesting foreground texture.

The Rest of the Story:  I saw the potential for this sunset about a half hour before, as I was shooting peaceful scenes in Troy, Ohio.  One of the Weather Channel’s declared “bomb cyclones” was making its way across the Midwest.  Since then, its been called the 2019 North American Blizzard.  The skies were overcast and the winds were wicked.  When I looked at my weather sources, I learned the skies would clear at sunset.  Given the 30-minutes heads up for my half hour drive, I jumped in my truck and headed for my favored perch overlooking Riverscape MetroPark.  As the sun sank below the local horizon, it painted the undersides of the cloud deck in amazing warm colors.  As for the winds, note the texture of the water indicating the strong winds.  Wanting to avoid a blurry image from camera shake (or getting blown off the bridge), I hung my 35lb camera backpack from the center of my tripod which produced the rock solid foundation.  I also knew I wanted a panorama print and felt I had about a minute of peak color to capture this 63-frame image.

I often speak of the three joys of being a photographer.  First is being there in the moment.  A second joy comes a few hours later when you’ve built the panorama on your computer and realize you made a dozen or so correct decisions on the fly, and it all came together.  The third joy comes from when someone walks in my gallery and realizes this print speaks to them and they want my artwork as part of their wall decor.   The third event happens frequently, making this one of my signature art prints and one of my best examples of Dayton Fine Art Photography.

This is a popular print for interior designers assisting their Miami Valley corporate art clients.  For those seeking Dayton Office Art, or Dayton Sunsets, this print may be of help.   In a few cases, clients have paired this print with a sister art print titled “Dayton Skyline at Twilight“.   An example of these fine art prints displayed as Dayton Hospitality Art lies below.  In this image, the Dayton Club resided on the top floor of the Kettering Tower (now Stratacache Tower) and they proudly displayed these two Daytonscape from the best seat in the Gem City.   For those seeking Dayton art prints, either for your foyer/board room I can make this a large canvas print.  If you are seeking a webpage art or a background image for your social media page that celebrates life in Dayton, I can license the image for subsequent use.

Sublocation:    RiverScape MetroPark

City, State:       Dayton, Ohio

Year:                 2019

Paired Prints:  Sometimes a print naturally pairs with another.  Frequently, I’ve captured an image from the same location but under varying lighting conditions or during a different time of year.  If you like this art print, you may also want to view:

• Dayton Skyline at Twilight

Accolades:

• 2021  Dayton Daily News:  Dayton On Display, 10 Feb 2021 page 10
• 2020  Client Selected for Exhibition at Dayton Club, Kettering Tower

Two of my large canvas prints titled Dayton Skyline at Twilight and Dayton Skyline at Sunset. This scene came from the Dayton Club that occupied the top floor of the tallest office building in both prints.