Sunset of the 4th of July

As I mentioned previously, I had the good fortune to get on the 20th floor of an apartment building in downtown Austin for the 4th of July to watch the fireworks.  It was a great show.  But as much as I enjoy shooting fireworks, I enjoy shooting cityscapes and skylines even more.  If you look through my photostream I think you will see quite a few shots of skylines - I just love them for some reason.  Well, when I got up to the apartment I was stunned at the view.  This is looking west (obviously the direction you want to face for a sunset) but also gives a nice view of the river (or lake, whatever you choose to call it) and the new building on the right is the brand new W Austin Hotel and Residences.  It is nearing completion - at least the outside is - and is the newest addition to our growing skyline.  The primary investor is a former LA Laker known as "Magic" and the long-running music show "Austin City Limits" will have its new home there.  It just so happens that the architect that designed it is a friend of mine, so that gets me a little fired up too (for his sake) since I like to see locals "do good".  Plus, I just love architecture (which may be part of my skyline addiction).  Anyhoo, I took several shots from this balcony, overlooking the W Austin Hotel, and will share them over the coming weeks.  Essentially each composition is about the same since there wasn't much room to roam up there on a balcony, but it is interesting to see how the light changes from shot to shot, as it goes from sunset to post-sunset, to pinkish-blue and then finally full on into blue hour.  Stay tuned for those photos and hope you enjoy the view from up here!