Midnight Sunset

“Midnight Sunset” was captured in Talkeetna, Alaska, from a room overlooking Denali National Park. After disembarking from an Alaskan cruise and settling into a room with sweeping bay windows, I set an alarm for midnight—hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights or a meteor shower. What I witnessed instead was a sky ignited with color. Radiating from behind Mount McKinley (Denali), the tallest peak in North America, the sun painted the sky in dramatic rays of gold, orange, and crimson that resembled the rays of the Arizona state flag. Even more remarkably, Denali is often shrouded in clouds—seeing it this clearly, at this hour, was a rare gift.