It was a warm fall day when I photographed an optical phenomenon. My friends and I got together with the intention of spending a night in the mountains. We arrived in afternoon, it was gorgeous. As we made our accent, the spring glow made the air feel magic. Moments after we arrived at the peak we set down our packs and made ourselves familiar with the landscape around us.

I was looking to the east when to my absolute bewilderment I saw a reflection of myself surrounded by a halo. I was yelling in amazement. Quickly after, my friends joined to find themselves engulfed in their own glories.

Glories arise due to wave interference of light internally refracted within small droplets. They can only be viewed from high buildings, mountains, or aircraft. They are extremely rare. The person in this glory is me. You cannot see another persons glory, even though they were occurring at the same time.

Mount Baker Wilderness, WA (2018)